KU-KLUX HORRORS IN TENNESSEE.
The Klan Outlawed--A Price set upon the Heads of its Membership--A
Rash Act of one of its Dens--Strong Provocations--Negro
Insurrectionists Placed in the Jail at Trenton--Prisoners Wrested
from the County Authorities by Two Hundred Men Disguised as
Ku-Klux--Subsequent Massacre--Detectives in Pursuit--Members of the
Order Indicted--Efforts to Convict the Accused--Failure of
Prosecution--Affair in Obion--Why these Horrors are Classed as Twin
Editions--Description of Madrid Bend--K. K. K. Transactions in this
Remote Quarter--Planters' Jealousy--Message from Mr. J. to the
Leaders of the Party--Cool Treatment it Received--The K.'s Declare
their Intention of Punishing one of the Laborers on J.'s Farm--His
Defiance--Arming the Blacks--A Fierce Skirmish--J.'s Flight--Massacre
of Fleeing Blacks--Eight Colored Men taken from the County Jail at
Troy--Their Fate a Mystery.
In Tennessee, where the Klan took the form of a political party, which
bitterly antagonized the Brownlow administration in every issue of
government, the principles which it supported (despite the bad qualities
inherent in its organization) gave it a success altogether unproportioned
to the means employed. Notwithstanding it was outlawed by act of the
Legislature, and a price set upon the heads of its membership, it
continued to flourish long after Brownlowism had ceased to be an element
in the politics of the State. But, after a comparatively uneventful
history during the years which intervened, in the summer of 1874 a rash
act of one of its Dens, located in Gibson county, in the western portion
of the State, operated such a loss of influence to the body throughout the
State, that it at once became ineffective; and here, in the autumn of this
year, the latest remnant of the organization on Southern soil fell into
disintegration, and ceased to exist.
A brief history of this transaction may prove not uninteresting to the
reader, as it was one of the most daring and venal of all the acts of
these regulators, and influenced national affairs as has no other local
event within the present century. In a remote settlement in the eastern
portion of this county, a party of negroes had organized themselves into a
military company, which not only conducted night drills and made
occasional raids into the surrounding settlements, but threatened that at
no distant day they would devastate the neighboring country, and prove the
heralds of an insurrection that would give the Southern country into the
hands of their race. The whites in the immediate vicinity bore their
midnight levies with tolerable resignation, and would, doubtless, have
dismissed their taunts as meaningless, if these had not been supported by
acts which left no doubt as to the warlike quality of their designs. They
had proceeded so far as to procure arms and ammunition, and nominate a day
for the threatened outbreak before any interference was attempted, and
when this was finally resolved upon, it was effected quietly by arresting
some of the more prominent conspirators at their homes. These parties were
incarcerated in the county jail at Trenton, and though the feeling of
indignation ran high in every portion of the county, it is believed that a
resolution to drop the subject here, or submit to such meagre satisfaction
as it was in the power of the courts to render in such cases, was general.
Such peaceful and eminently wise counsels were not to prevail, however,
and on the night succeeding that upon which these prisoners had been
committed to the county authorities for safe keeping, a large body of men
(estimated at from two to three hundred), disguised as Ku-Klux, rode into
the town, and laying siege to the jail, soon effected their object of
taking from thence the alleged insurrectionists. In view of the formidable
force employed, no resistance was offered, and the prisoners, being tied
securely on horses, which had been provided for that purpose, were placed
at the head of the column and conducted six miles from Trenton in an
easterly direction. Here a parley was called, and some dispute arising as
to what disposition should be made of the prisoners, they were commanded
to make their escape, and at the same instant fired upon, the volley being
repeated twice. Of the company of ten who were commended to this terrible
fate, two were killed outright, two were badly wounded, and the remainder
(disappointing the wishes of their captors, it is thought), made good
their escape. The news of this event spread rapidly, and as it met with
almost universal condemnation, a vigorous pursuit was organized, and every
effort which a thoroughly aroused and indignant community would be likely
to employ, undertaken to discover and arrest the perpetrators. Knowing
that disaffection had existed among the raiders, and a large portion, if
not a majority of their number, had refused to participate in the
massacre, this clew was adopted by the authorities, and a detective force
employed, which it was thought could not fail of success. Several days
were consumed in the pursuit and investigation, and at the end of that
time it was announced that one of the party had become "State's witness,"
and that a full expose of the affair would follow.
The faith that was reposed in this story shows how unequal was the
estimate which the State authorities placed upon the resources and
influence of their secret enemy, and how illy adapted to the ends in view
was the machinery of prosecution employed by the courts in this and
similar causes. The party who had professed a willingness to betray his
associates in this affair could only be prevailed upon to embrace a very
small number in the accusations he made, and, at the subsequent trial,
completely failed to sustain the points of the indictment which had been
founded on his sworn admissions.
The arrests were made, however, and after a long and tedious contest
between the State and Federal courts, regarding the subject of their
jurisdiction--which could not fail to prove advantageous to the
accused--the trial, or something which bore a resemblance thereto, was
proceeded with. Viewing the resources of the two parties to the
presentment, and the efforts put forth by each, it could not have been a
success on any terms, and, under the existing conditions, proved a
judicial farce of the first magnitude. The negroes who had made their
escape from the scene of the massacre, and who had held out promises that
they could identify their would-be lynchers, failed to meet the tests
which were imposed at the trial; and the State's witness, mainly relied
upon, either could not, or would not, criminate his associates beyond a
few general statements, that would not have justified even a partial
verdict. After a lengthy trial, pending which the State authorities put
forth their utmost exertions to establish the guilt of the accused, it was
announced that an _alibi_ had been proven in each case; and so ended the
Gibson county horror.
In Obion, a county adjoining Gibson on the west, the details of even a
bloodier affair than that recounted above were given to the public a few
years earlier, but which, for some reason, never found its way into the
courts. We give the outlines in this place, because these horrors, in view
of the _locus in quo_, will always be classed as twin editions in future
histories of the Ku-Klux riots.
In what is known as Madrid Bend, a peninsular territory formed by a curve
in the Mississippi River at its junction with Reelfoot Lake (which
occupies the rear of the district), are situated a number of large farms,
supporting hundreds of negro laborers, and here, as might have been
expected, that doctrine of cause and effect, inversely applied, to which
we have referred in a previous chapter, had its perfect work. On such soil
the K. K. K. vine could not fail to prosper; and accordingly, at an early
day, a Den was organized, which soon afterwards took upon itself the duty
of regulating the affairs of the little kingdom. Loyal League meetings
were broken up; carpet-baggers were requested to skip on brief notice; the
enfranchised masses were not permitted to vote too early, nor too often;
but, what is sincerely to be regretted by the honest historian, called
upon to chronicle these events, and the law-loving public at large,
matters did not stop here. The weird brotherhood went further still, in
enforcing their ideas of good government, and were wont, at those periods
of the "calm, still night" when the queen of its realm did not exercise
her beams too freely, to visit the neighboring farms, and, at the end of
the lash, administer lessons in morals, social polity, etc. The "man and
brother" was not permitted to offend in too palpable breaches of morals,
even on his own territory, and certain home duties were strictly enjoined
upon him. These _ex cathedra_ performances proceeded in fact to great
lengths, and naturally gave dissatisfaction to the controllers of the
farming interests in the Bend.
One of these, whom we shall designate as Mr. J., a large proprietor, who
felt himself particularly outraged, in view of the fact that his farm had
been several times visited in this clandestine manner, finally protested,
and signified to those whom he regarded as the leaders of the movement his
perfect ability to control his own affairs. No reply was made at the time,
but not long after this one of the negro laborers on J.'s farm had the
misfortune to commit a misdemeanor amenable to severe punishment under the
K. K. K. code, and it soon after became apparent that the neighborhood Den
would adopt the usual plan in meting out justice to the offender. Upon
receiving this intelligence, J., seeing that his authority was not only
set at nought, but defied, became enraged, and notified the parties that
they must proceed at their peril, as he would arm the negroes on his
plantation, and lead them in an effort to resist the proposed attack.
Unawed by this proclamation, the Klan made its dispositions, and at about
twelve o'clock on the night designated, appeared on the scene. A fierce
skirmish ensued, as was to have been expected. The negroes had not only
been fully equipped, as their employer had threatened, but were stationed
behind barricades, with which their wooden houses were lined, and hence
fought to the best advantage. The attacking party, on the other hand, was
compelled to occupy open ground, and so far from being shielded by the
darkness, the relative situation of the parties adjudged that circumstance
favorable to the enemy. The combat was a brief one, and under the
conditions which they were forced to accept, could not have resulted
favorably to the besiegers. They finally withdrew, having had one man
killed and three wounded in this ill-advised affair. The negroes, on their
part, suffered no loss whatever.
But the end was not yet, and while fortune favored the cause of the
resisting faction in the skirmish of which we have given brief
particulars, they must have realized, from their knowledge of their
surroundings, that the blood which had been shed would be required at
their hands. The scene, moreover, was remote from any garrisoned point
whence they might have received aid from government troops in the event
that the attack was renewed.
The news of the affair, as was to have been expected, spread rapidly, and
as great excitement ensued, J., feeling the insecurity of his position,
fled by steamer to Memphis, at the same time counselling the negroes to
place themselves under the protection of the authorities. Troy, the seat
of justice of Obion, was distant from the scene of rencontre about twenty
miles, and thither, at an early hour of the day, the negroes, adopting
by-paths and unfrequented routes, turned their steps. But despite the
precautions against discovery which they adopted, their movements were
closely spied, and before they had proceeded many miles a large force of
their enemies was in pursuit. Riding at a break-neck speed, the pursuing
party gained on them rapidly, and as they kept out flankers, in order
that none of the party might be overran and thus suffered to escape, ten
of the refugees were overtaken and put to death ere the raiders were
warned that they were trespassing too far on neutral territory.
Eight of the eighteen succeeded in reaching Troy, and at their request
were placed in jail, and a strong guard detailed for their protection.
Even these extraordinary precautions, however, proved unavailing, and on
the first night of their incarceration a large force of disguised men
invested the prison, and having intimidated the guard, carried them away
prisoners. Further than this, no report has ever been given of the affair,
but it may be guessed, with tolerable assurance, that they shared the fate
of their companions.
This affair created a profound sensation throughout the entire country,
and to it, as much as any other single deed of the night-riders, are due
those prompt measures on the part of the general and State governments
which operated as such an emphatic check on their movements. Soon after
this the Congress of the United States passed a law virtually outlawing
the body; and later, in view of certain phases of the subject which best
adapted it to the special legislation of which they were capable,
relegated the question to the State governments, reserving only the right
to adjudicate such causes where States were indisposed to afford their
citizens adequate protection.