New York: Crown, 2008. Helena-West Helena Police investigate a deadly Friday night - FOX16 Online at https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2040/ (accessed November 9, 2022). [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. [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. 5. [20]. Elaine sits in Phillips County, on one of the many bends in the Mississippi, roughly 95 miles southwest of Memphis. [78] About 100 men remained behind on the hill, pinned down by Union fire. Krugler, David F. 1919, The Year of Racial Violence: How African Americans Fought Back. When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book. Further Deep South states seceded early in the next year, forming the Confederate States of America. Founded in 1871, the Helena World is one of Arkansas' oldest newspapers. [97] Vicksburg had surrendered on July 4, and the Confederate garrison at Port Hudson, Louisiana fell within a week. The median income for a household in Helena is $18,662, and the median income for a family was $21,534. [9] Further vacillation by Holmes ended when Confederate cavalry reported on June 14 that the garrison at Helena had been weakened. Corrections? Major funding provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. 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. [18][19], Helena previously had a Catholic grade school for black children, St. Cyprian School; it closed in 1963. Little Rock, AR. 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. Little Rock: Parke-Harper Publishing Company, 1925. The convictions were again affirmed. One of the largest harbors on an inland waterway was completed in the 1990s, making Helena a hub of industrial development. Further Reading: Richard C. Courtner, A Mob Intent on Death: The N.A.A.C.P. 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. Vigilantes from Mississippi seized another union member, Lula Black, and her four children from her house, knocked her down, pistol whipped and kicked her, then took her to jail. Families of union members found no welcome when they returned to their homes. The military placed several hundred African Americans in makeshift stockades until they could be questioned and vouched for by their white employers. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2012. [55] Walker's men spent the rest of the morning primarily skirmishing with Clayton's cavalry and firing at long range. The account that best captured the perspective of the sharecroppers came from Ida Wells Barnett, the legendary anti-lynching crusader and journalist. Special thanks to the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Ms. Wells Barnett provided hard evidence of the massacre, but it took the Supreme Court to expose the truth to national attention. Additional support provided by the Arkansas Community Foundation. [29] Remembering the surprise suffered by men under his command in the earlier Battle of Shiloh, Prentiss ordered reveille blown daily at 2 am. 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. HELENA WEST HELENA, Ark. The Confederates withdrew on July 4 of 1863. [67] A critical moment in the battle had arrived: if the Confederates could get enough artillery onto Graveyard Hill, they could shell the Union forces into submission. New York: Peter Lang, 2008. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1988. Waskow, Arthur I. Johnson, J. Chester. Mulder, Brandon. [1] The American Civil War began on April 12, when Confederate troops bombarded Fort Sumter. https://www.britannica.com/place/Helena-Arkansas, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture - Helena-West Helena. [56] Historian Robert E. Shalhope wrote that the Confederate attacks were repulsed "perhaps less by the powerful Union entrenchments than by their own poorly co-ordinated attack". 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 Taylor, Kieran. There were 2,710 housing units at an average density of 304.6 per square mile (117.6/km2). One African-American, William Pickens, described the region as the American Congo. Elaine, though an isolated plantation region, was part of the broader social upheaval following World War I that came in the form of massive strikes and racial confrontations, both at home and abroad. J. [41] Fagan's charge took the first line of Union defenses, but his men started taking fire from Batteries C and D. Minutes after Fagan's men became engaged, Marmaduke's men on the north end of the Confederate line entered the action, driving Union skirmishers back towards Battery A. It is impossible to establish an accurate death toll. The violence even claimed those who had nothing to do with the union efforts, such as brothers David Augustine Elihue Johnston, Gibson Allen Johnston, Lewis Harrison (L. H.) Johnston, and Leroy Johnston, who were returning to Helena from a hunting trip when they were attacked and killed on October 2. [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. 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. On September 29, 2019, a memorial to those who died during the massacre was dedicated in downtown Helena-West Helena. 25 federal indictments come from Helena-West Helena, federal partnership (2000) 6,323; (2010) 12,282. 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. Whitaker, Robert. Price's men fell back and abandoned Graveyard Hill. 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. 2023 Encyclopedia of Arkansas. During the 1910 census, my great-great-great-grandfather was listed. According to several accounts from white witnesses, both vigilantes and the troops committed acts of barbarism. 1861-02-12 State troops seize US munitions in . [37] The felled trees slowed Fagan's main attack,[38] which was on the Upper Little Rock Road,[39] and forced the Confederates to leave their supply wagons and cannons behind. [46] Obstructions on the line of approach also disorganized Price's ranks. No one even took the time to confirm the number of kills, as if these people were as worthless as termites. Neuman, Scott. [56], Around the time Fagan's men approached Battery D at 7:00 am, Price's attack began. State police say Officer Wallace was shot around 6:11 p.m. Thursday outside the Delta Inn on U.S. Highway 49 in Helena-West Helena. So sad. They produced a predictable narrative that resembled those dating back to slavery. Rev. For example, H. F. Smiddy, one of the white witnesses to the massacre, swore in an eye-witness account in 1921 that several hundred of them began to hunt negroes and shotting [sic] them as they came to them. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the troops from Camp Pike engaged in indiscriminate killing of African Americans in the area, which, if true, was a replication of past militia activity to put down perceived black revolts. Then the real massacre began: For the next five days, Colonel Jencks and his troops, assisted by vigilantes, hunted black people over a 200-mile radius. The official narrative presented a picture at odds with reality. 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). Union, Reaction, and Riot: The Biography of a Rural Race Riot. The main attack broke through Battery C, but Union troops fended off the attackers and sealed the breach. 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. 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. Since Prentiss was aware of a coming attack, the Confederates would not have the advantage of surprise. Believing that the Confederates were preparing to attack again, Prentiss requested reinforcements, which arrived from Memphis, Tennessee, on July 6. This article is about the U.S. city. 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. The Malco theater in Helena has served as both a place to see a movie and as a movie location in Arkansas. As you know, our black history is very limited in some areas. 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. Downtown Helena - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go - Tripadvisor The Elaine Massacre and Arkansas: A Century of Atrocity and Resistance, 18191919. [43] Meanwhile, on the Lower Little Rock road, Brooks ran into trouble, taking fire from Battery K, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment and Tyler. 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. Fort Curtis 12 Points of Interest & Landmarks By Altekameraden McRae sent about 200 men to attack the battery, but they were unsuccessful. During this Red Scare, the threat of Bolshevism seemed to be everywhere: not only in the labor strikes led by the radical Industrial Workers of the World but also in the cotton fields of Arkansas. [44] Brooks' men became disorganized and did not reform until 8:00 am. The decision by the justices was aided by two white men involved in the massacre who reversed their previous testimonies. [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. Legal disfranchisement stripped them of the vote and an ability to share in any benefits of citizenship. Local officials and businessmen conducted their own investigation of what had transpired in the Elaine area. Encyclopedia of Arkansas http://visualizingtheredsummer.com/ (accessed August 16, 2022). Their initial task was to appeal the sentences given to the Elaine Twelve and ask for a new trial based on errors committed by the trial court. 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. [25] Prentiss' men had advantages over the Confederates through their defenses, batteries, and naval support. It was effectively an invasion. (Union leader Robert Lee Hill was hidden by friends during the violence and later escaped to Kansas.) The following morning, Gov. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [99], Helena was reinforced and in mid-August, Union forces began a campaign against Little Rock, with Helena as the staging ground. Facebook/Historic Arkansas Facts and Photos. [20] Overall, the Confederates had 7,646 men. . Williams, Lee E., and Lee E. Williams II. Take a look at these 10 abandoned places in Arkansas. 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. There were 2,312 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.8% were married couples living together, 28.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 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. The cases of the Elaine Twelve were litigated on two separate tracks. The research below is a comprehensive historical analysis of every major league baseball player born in Arkansas. Facebook/Historic Arkansas Facts and Photos. Helena has been called the cradle of the Delta Blues, and each October the citys King Biscuit Blues Festival draws fans from around the world. White attorneys from Helena were appointed by Circuit Judge J. M. Jackson to represent the first twelve black men to go to trial. Update: Name Released of Man Found Shot to Death on Helena-West Helena 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. [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.
Ark Sarco Skin Spawn Command,
Country Way Sprayer Parts,
Articles W