During the 1910 census, my great-great-great-grandfather was listed. [81] The Union troops had taken advantage of the severe disorganization and scattering of the Confederate forces to take the prisoners. One of the convicted 12 wrote to her from prison, requesting help. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Dunaway, L. S. What A Preacher Saw Through a Keyhole in Arkansas. With labor conflicts escalating throughout the country at the end of World War I, government and business interpreted the demands of labor increasingly as the work of foreign ideologies, such as Bolshevism, that threatened the foundation of the American economy. 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. [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. [55] Walker's men spent the rest of the morning primarily skirmishing with Clayton's cavalry and firing at long range. Williams, Lee E., and Lee E. Williams II. The main attack broke through Battery C, but Union troops fended off the attackers and sealed the breach. Colonel Jenckss report of his mission supported this view, claiming only two black people and one of his corporals had died. Krug, Teresa. The committee met with Gov. [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. There she interviewed the 12 prisoners accused of murder, their wives, and many others, publishing her findings in a 1920 pamphlet. Elaine was probably the largest massacre of black people in post-Civil War history, yet no federal investigation was ever conducted. The town was at the center of a rapidly changing lumber and plantation economy known for harsh working conditions. These are the same people who dont understand why African Americans choose Black Lives Matter as a valid starting point. 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. See this venue in scenes from the 2004 film, "Walk the Line . [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. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Robert Palmer noted that in the mid-1930s Helena was "the blues capital of the Delta". As you know, our black history is very limited in some areas. Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock, Arkansas. [16] Holmes and Fagan reached Clarendon on June 26. Holmes planned and executed three different failed attacks on the town. [24][28] Prentiss also cancelled a planned celebration of the Fourth of July as a precaution,[19] and ordered the roads into town barricaded with felled trees. 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. On Oct. 31, a grand jury indicted 122 black men and women for offenses ranging from murder to night riding. New York: Crown, 2008. The charges ranged from murder to nightriding, a charge akin to terroristic threatening (as defined by Act 112 of 1909). This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. [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. One of the largest harbors on an inland waterway was completed in the 1990s, making Helena a hub of industrial development. We Have Just Begun: Black Organizing and White Response in the Arkansas Delta, 1919. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 58 (Autumn 1999): 265284. [97] Vicksburg had surrendered on July 4, and the Confederate garrison at Port Hudson, Louisiana fell within a week. On September 10, Union troops took Little Rock. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 orcalsfoundation@cals.org. 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 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. Donations made to the CALS Foundation are tax-deductible for United States federal income tax purposes. [47] Price's advance was led by the 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion, who sighted the Union positions on Graveyard Hill. (Students Tapping Academic Resources for Success) Academy (alternative school), This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at 19:58. St. Francis National Forest is immediately to the north. Arkansas Residents Make a Case for Reparations 100 Years after the Elaine Massacre. American Prospect, September 30, 2019. https://prospect.org/justice/arkansas-reparations-elaine-race-massacre/ (accessed August 16, 2022). The main attack broke through Battery C, but Union troops fended off the attackers and sealed the breach. In 1925, Sharpe Dunaway, an employee of the Arkansas Gazette, alleged that soldiers in Elaine had committed one murder after another with all the calm deliberation in the world, either too heartless to realize the enormity of their crimes, or too drunk on moonshine to give a continental darn.. 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). Despite dawn beginning to be visible in the sky, Price misunderstood Holmes' order to attack at daylight and held back his troops, until Holmes came over to explain his orders. In June 1863, Confederate Commander Theophilus Holmes sought to take pressure off of Vicksburg, Mississippi, by attacking the Union-held town of Helena, Arkansas. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2020. Gov. Arkansas governor Charles Hillman Brough told a St. Louis, Missouri, audience during the war that there existed no twilight zone in American patriotism and called Wisconsin senator Robert LaFollete, who opposed the war, a Bolshevik leader. HWH Mayor Kevin Smith took to Facebook Wednesday morning saying the fatal shooting happened on North 6th Street. In 1811 the steamboat New Orleans called there, opening a prosperous era of river traffic. Ms. Wells Barnett gathered testimonies that described the sheer horror of the massacre from those who endured and lived to tell their stories. Facebook/Historic Arkansas Facts and Photos. Historical Events. 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. (WMC) - Areas of Eastern Arkansas are sending more violent offenders to federal court. [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. [24] Each of the four batteries was located on a high point of Crowley's Ridge. They produced a predictable narrative that resembled those dating back to slavery. The Arkansas Gazette reported at least fifteen black bodies in Helena's streets and it's outskirts. The Confederates withdrew on July 4 of 1863. For historic sites related to the battle, see. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Marking a Tragedy. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 29, 2019, pp. Local officials and businessmen conducted their own investigation of what had transpired in the Elaine area. It was effectively an invasion. He made no motion for a change of venue, nor did he challenge a single prospective juror, taking the first twelve called. Eliza Miller Junior High School and Central High School, the designated secondary schools, were in West Helena. They aimed to hire a lawyer to represent them with the landlords. Even at the age of seventy-nine, Murphy, a former Confederate officer and Arkansas attorney general, was considered one of the best trial attorneys in Arkansas. Women received domestic allotment checks from men in the military, giving them cash beyond the control of planters. Within days of the initial shoot-out, 285 African Americans were taken from the temporary stockades to the jail in Helena, the county seat, although the jail had space for only forty-eight. 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. [66] Many men from the 7th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Lewis') were captured at this time. VHS Documentary. [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. As they ran from the posse, the Colemans saw his neighbor, Jim Miller, and his family burned alive in their house. 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. The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, near Helena, Arkansas, during the American Civil War. 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. [82] Either around the time that Battery C fell to Price's attack[83] or as Fagan's withdrawal was ending, Brooks placed a 6-pounder field gun on a hilltop and began to fire on the Union positions, but Battery K, 1st Missouri Light Artillery and Tyler drove it off. Instead, the troops either shot or arrested them. From 1906 to 1946, Helena was a terminal point on the former Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad, which provided passenger and freight service to Joplin, Missouri. The union had contracted with lawyer Ulysses S. Bratton, whose son, Ocier, was at this meeting. Race, Labor, and Violence in the Delta: Essays to Mark the Centennial of the Elaine Massacre. Evidence shows that the mobs of whites slaughtered African Americans in and around Elaine. [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.