| Wynne read the book and contacted Bristol about the alleged mass grave. OPELOUSAS, LA ( WGNO) The Reconstruction Period began in 1865 the moment the Civil War ended in the United States. The entrance to the Forgotten City is marked by a road sign at the intersection of Louisiana Highways 165 and 112, sixteen miles south of Alexandria. Twenty-five years after his article was published, Simpson said he and the community can take satisfaction that the tale of the violent incident that occurred on Lee Street in 1942is no longer a tale untold. Simpson estimates that between 10 to 15 Black soldiers were killed, a number that is supported by the accounts of several notable witnesses. "But there were those who told me that they saw the bodies of soldiers lying in the street. There would be no Republican organization in the parish for the next four years, and no Republican paper until 1876. IN THIS UNPRECEDENTED TIME, YOUR SUPPORT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER, James Carvilles Stirring Tribute to Louisiana Gov. Tess was a fourth-grade student at Robb Elementary School. Published: Feb. 1, 2021 at 4:36 PM PST. There were four major military training camps within fifty miles of Alexandria, and the influx of soldiers stretched the local police force thin. "The . After delays due to Hurricanes Laura and Delta, Bristol, Holt, Ian Stewart, a USM graduate student, and Hayden Malloch, an Auburn University graduate student, came to Pineville in late October tosurvey 10 spots at the cemetery that Wynneidentified beforethe team's arrival. This is where the violence began. Hopefully the full truth of what actually happened on that never-to-be-forgotten night will come out one day.". Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. We may never know the full and complete story of what transpired on Lee Street. COLFAX RIOT. For a time, the parishs largest slave owner had been Meredith Calhoun, the man who allegedly inspired the notorious character Simon Legree in Harriet Beecher Stowes Uncle Toms Cabin. According to the 1860 Census, there were more slaves in Rapides Parish than in any other parish in the state. Instead, their actions sparked a massacre. ", The U.S. Army, said Wynne, issued a brief, unsigned statementsaying "29 colored soldiers were injured. All rights reserved. Because he had recently moved to Louisiana,he had not but the conversation spurred his interest in the subject. The service was held at the site of the former Ritz Theater on Lee Street. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. The untold story of the slaying of a Southern town's ex-slaves and a white lawyer's historic battle to bring the perpretators to justiceFollowing the Civil War, Colfax, Louisiana, was a town, like many, where African Americans and whites mingled uneasily. But on April 13, 1873, a small army of white ex-Confederate soldiers, enraged after attempts by freedmen to assert their new rights . At this point, the process gets much more complicated. The Alexandria, Louisiana, Lee Street Riot (January 10, 1942). Golden Apple. "At the end of class, one of my students came up and asked if I ever heard of the fact that a number of soldiers were killed in a riot on Lee Street," he said. Black soldiers were stationed at Camp Claiborne while white soldiers were stationed at Camp Livingston and Camp Beauregard. Property values skyrocketed as a result. Weeks after the massacre, a Franklin, Louisiana, newspaper victoriously declared, "The negroes in St. Landry are, for the first time since the war, polite and well disposed, and work well." 8 New Orleans Republican, "The St. Landry Massacre," October 12, 1868, reprinting editorials from The Franklin Banner, October 10, 1868. "Local Black citizens, the local chapter of the NAACP, and others, they were convinced from the get-go that more happened than what the Army was saying," he said. Surface changes, soil changes and big tree roots, which look like an interred body, are also organic and surrounded by soil can provide challenges for the radar when used in a cemetery. The crowd, including soldiers and civilians, resented the actions of the MP. Simpson never heard of thisstory involvingLee Streetuntil he was teaching a session about Central Louisiana and World War II in the mid-1980s. Library of Congress. Image 1 of 15 368 Stovall Rd, Alexandria, LA 71303 . Three white men also died during the . . In 1940, 8,000 construction workers began moving into Central Louisiana, building the entire place in less than a year. Holt explained to those gathered at the cemetery thatthe ground penetrating radar operates similar to a Doppler radar andbounces a signal off an object. Deadly violence is especially common in the metro area. ", "Alexandria and its people have changed drastically over 80 years," said Wynne. A misfired rifle nearly caused a riot to break out, but in the end, everyone departed peacefullythough the Democrats threatened Bentley if he failed to publish an honest account of the event in the St. Landry Progress. St. Your Privacy Rights 1874-1875. While the federal government prepared young men to fight across both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, for many Black soldiers, hell began as soon as they wandered off-base. A small memorial placed at the site of the former Ritz Theater by the late Etta Compton prompted Tyson's story. Camp Claiborne, like many things in Louisiana, is buried above ground. Depending on whom you ask, before it was effectively abandoned in 1946, it had either been Louisianas third or fourth-most populated city, though it wasnt ever a real city. (60 of the 90 men who responded were military police officers who had been stationed at nearby training camps). In central Louisiana, residents and guests enjoy a treasured, peaceful lifestyle. I simply wanted to find the truth.. Before launching the Bayou Brief, he published CenLamar, a popular blog that initially covered the drama of City Hall in his hometown of Alexandria. After that incident that had happened on Lee St. they didnt see any of their soldier friends anymore, says Rhodes. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. This was the clearest opportunity yet to take him down. "The overgrown back part of the cemetery and to the back left dates after 1945. Some historians believe there was a cover-up by the United States military and researchers are hunting for a possible mass grave. Event starts on Friday, 17 November 2023 and happening at 160 Fox Fire Ln, Alexandria, LA. At the time of death, the czar was 50 years old and the empress 46. Mystery of the 364th. Yet for all that it was the deadliest instance of racial violence during the Reconstruction period, the Opleousas massacre is little remembered today. The Thibodaux Massacre took place in Thibodaux, Louisiana on November 23, 1887. LAWSON REALTY, LLC. The Alexandria, Louisiana Lee Street Riot, it generated renewed (albeit temporary) local interest in the subject. $170,000. Thousands of soldiers, both Black and white,were training at local bases. "Maybe a GoFundMe or something like that. Marker is on Lee Street north of 9th Street, on the right when traveling north. Photographed By Cajun Scrambler, May 29, 2021. Louisiana History Museum. Holt said they have been successful at finding old slave cemeteries in which there was a systematic burial of bodies closetogether. "They said they were shipping the soldiers out so fast they were shipping them in rough boxes," said Jacob Crittle in a 2018 Town Talk video. "Dr. Holt is just aincredible expert on ground penetrating radar," said Wynne. Months before the violence erupted in Alexandria, the small town of Glenmora had already been declared off limits for Black soldiers training at Camp Claiborne. The Alexandria, Louisiana, Lee Street Riot (January 10, 1942). "Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Alexandra Hospital case. While there is now no question whatsoever that black soldiers from Camp Claiborne were among the primary victims of what was quickly dubbed the Lee Street Riot, Col. Ralph Holiday, a commander at the camp, had initially claimed that none of our boys participated in the unfortunate outbreak. It was a part of a pattern of denials, obfuscation, and brazen lies that would be repeated countless times by the militarys brass, one that the pliant and obsequious local paper, the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, was more than willing to report as fact. When I was a high school student, more than 50 years after the camps closure, kids would drive out to Claiborne to drink beer and smoke pot. Erected on June 14, 1951, the sign's bold white letters announced that a civil disturbance claimed the lives of "three white men and 150 negroes." The Read More Read More An anonymous letter about a violent incident nearly 80years ago in Alexandriais the impetus for a renewed effort to discover what happened during and after an incidentonLee Street in 1942. . Hopefully, the full truth of what actually happened on that never-to-be-forgotten night will come out one day, he said. The Civil War altered Rapides Parish forever. Lorraine Boissoneault The temporary settlement, which had been home to a grand total more than 500,000 people over the course of its seven years, was a military training facility. "Getting them out and putting them on the freight trains," he said. pittsburgh gymnastics roster; george pickett siblings; alexandria, louisiana massacre Wynne says there is rumored to be anywhere from 20 to 300 bodies. The most serious and compelling scholarship on the subject of the Lee Street Riot was by Dr. Bill Simpson, a former history professor at Louisiana College. "And whether it's one body, 20 bodiesor many more, we want to find where they are and finally bring resolution to the families who lost their sons in this tragic massacre.". But this was still the Deep South during the Jim Crow Era. "And I was convinced that that was not the case.". Just days before the academic year was supposed to end and summer break was to start, teachers and students at Robb Elementary were attacked in their own school. To his enormous credit, Simpson was one of a small number of respected academics who fought, unsuccessfully, to save the school. Claiborne, the states first governor, Camp Claiborne was once a sprawling boomtown, hastily built and then quickly forgotten by the U.S. government, part of the Louisiana Maneuvers. Were very excited about it. It did happen. When the Bureau of Freedmen (a governmental organization created to provide emancipated African-Americans with legal, health and educational assistance and help them settle abandoned lands) sent Lieutenant Jesse Lee to investigate, he called it a quiet reign of terror so far as the freed people were concerned. Influential Republican Beverly Wilson, an African-American blacksmith in Opelousas, believed black citizens were in a worse condition now than in slavery. Another observer was led outside the town of Opelousas and shown the half-buried bodies of more than a dozen African-Americans. "They fought back with - whatever - bricks, rocks, bottles. On the first night, only one small group of armed African-Americans assembled to deal with the report theyd heard about Bentley. But as far as a mass grave, at this point, I havent seen compelling evidence, says Dr. Holt. Colfax Memorial Organization Dedicates Memorial on 150th Anniversary of Colfax Massacre. In 1940, Alexandria had a population of more than 27,000 people, and although nearly half were African American, there were only 17 Black registered voters in the entire city. The bodies were removed, and taken to the site of an old mine, where the executioners did their best to hide the identities of the corpses. He has appeared as a guest on CNN, MSNBC, and the BBC, and he's been the subject of profiles in The Washington Post, The Advocate, and Huffington Post. So it just became this rampage through the Lee St. area, says Dr. Bristol. Iles and Berry were certain that lives were lost; it was impossible to reach any other conclusion after observing the carnage. "We've been doing this for over 10 years," said Freeman. (KALB) - Expert researchers and historians spent Tuesday at Holly Oak Cemetery in Pineville, searching for a rumored mass gravesite. All we did, basically, in some ways, was take pictures of the ground - X-ray the ground - no intrusive, no digging or anything like that. Haywood Joiner Sr. was wandering about Lee Street, the bustling artery abutting the Black district of Alexandria, Louisiana. ALEXANDRIA, La. Alexandria, La. He collected oral histories of people who dispute the militarys account that only three soldiers were seriously injured. This year, the city of Alexandria, Louisiana installed a historical marker commemorating a confrontation between African American soldiers and white military police during World War II. The summer of 1868 was a tumultuous one. This was particularly true for Black soldiers training at Camp Claiborne. 31 18.408 N, 92 26.774 W. Marker. Scalise, 51, who represents Louisiana and is the third-ranking Republican in the House, was standing at second base when the shooting erupted, witnesses said. We are trying to find the mass grave of these black soldiers. In the wake of Simpsons scholarship, even the Town Talk had been forced to publicly acknowledge its own complicity in manufacturing what now was clearly revealed to be an egregious cover-up. This event on April 13, 1873 marked the end of carpetbag misrule in the South. It's become known as the Lee Street Riot of 1942, but the story passed down through generations of Black Americans in the town is that it was more of a . This would be an important precedent for the subsequent wave of lynchings that occurred in Louisiana from the 1890s through the early decades of the twentieth century, in which lynch mobs killed more than 400 persons, most of them African American.. To uncover the truth, four nationally known researchers, including Dr. Douglas Bristol and Dr. David Holt from the University of Mississippi, brought a penetrating radar device to the cemetery Tuesday. "Aside from the civilians and soldiers enjoying that night, were dozens of military police from the local camps, both Black and white, with the white MPs being the only ones fully armed to handle any trouble caused by the soldiers on Lee," he said. "Getting them out of here. The Louisiana Maneuvers trained thousands of soldiers to fight in World War II. By the end of the two weeks, estimates of the number killed were around 250 people, the vast majority of them African-American. Bentley, an 18-year-old who also worked as one of the editors of the Republican paper The St. Landry Progress, was one of the few white Republicans in the Louisiana parish of St. Landry. It was a tradition she later passed on to the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club as she got older and couldn't do it anymore. Website: http://www.lboissoneault.com/, 2023 Smithsonian Magazine STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE . Reconstruction remains contested in local memory and efforts to remember the achievements of Reconstruction are cancelled out by the seeming failure of the period to achieve lasting change.. There is one bit of folklore that continues to persist: the story of what a small group of Black soldiers had attempted to do once they returned to base. Okla., massacre that were recently exhumed from a mass grave at Oaklawn Cemetery. She is also the author of The Last Voyageurs: Retracing La Salle's Journey Across America. 2023 www.thetowntalk.com. The Alexandria, Louisiana, Lee Street Riot (January 10, 1942) By WILLIAM M. SIMPSON' January 1942 brought Alexandrians, as it did most persons across the United States, bleak prospects for a happy new year. The places we choose to forget often contain stories we would rather not tell. The Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt by the British Mediterranean Fleet took place on 11-13 July 1882. . Address: 3601 Bayou Rapides Road, Alexandria, LA 71303, United States. On March 1941 it was activated at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana located in central Louisiana outside of the city of Alexandria. Many historians, such as James G. Hollandsworth, George C. Rable, and Gilles Vandal have examined the causes and events of the New Orleans Massacre, but few scholars have attempted to uncover how large-scale political They were apprehended before they got anywhere, and the army ordered the units swift transfer to a camp in Texas the very next day. "What happened next cannot be positively determined but many say a riot occurred," he said. The city had to budget about $100,000 for the careful exhumation of the remains, he said. The United States Army wanted to keep close tabs on the regiment so they . Its rumored they could be in Pinevilles Holly Oak Cemetery. "And subsequently, other significant, different places where the bodies might have been disposed of," said Simpson. "So the press had very little information. A memorial to the three white men who died fighting for white supremecy during the Colfax Massacre stands in the town cemetery Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Colfax, La. The signalis then returned andstudied to see how it has been altered. Different stories have been told about what initially sparkedthe incident on that Saturdaynight. About The Caucasian (Alexandria, La.) He found the message in early September 1868, illustrated with a coffin, a skull and bones, and a dagger dripping with blood. "This cemetery, in 1942, was an extremely secluded spot," said Wynne. Terms of Use PINEVILLE, La. Massacre marked a transitional event, one where outbreaks of violence began to be based primarily on political grievances. Basketball legend Rivers, longtime Globetrotter, dies at 73, Public Inspection File - digicomm@kalb.com - (318) 483-4211. The four-block area had been hastily cordoned off, and the military commanded Black soldiers to return to their respective bases, either Livington or Claiborne. It was an ugly time. Copyright 2020 KALB. Original content. The Caucasian. For the next fewhours, fighting broke out up and down a five to six block corridor -from Lee Street to about4th and 10th Streets. Every year on Memorial Day, the Alexandria chapter of the motorcycle club holds a memorial to remember the soldiers who died in the violent incident, saidKelvin Freeman, president of the Alexandria chapter. In 2003, in preparation for the city museums Heart of Spain exhibit, three local artists painted a mural on the side of a vacant building on Lee, directly across the street from the since-demolished Ritz Theater; the mural had honored prominent African Americans in Central Louisianas history, including David Iles and Louis Berry. After doing research, Wynne knew they were going to need a ground penetrating radar device to discover whether a mass grave could existat the cemetery. But their error pales in comparison to the governments. Hearts 'shattered': Here are the victims of the Texas school shooting. Donate here through ActBlue, or by sending a check to Bayou Brief at 3208 Pine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70125. Search Alexandria obituaries and condolences, hosted by Echovita.com. Some say it was 20 while others think it could be as high as 300. The Town Talk urged its readers not to believe the worst, arguing that, although the military had been reluctant to even acknowledge the riots and needed to issue a more definitive report, there was still no reason to doubt the official line. Register or Buy Tickets, Price information. OLPS . Next photo. They sent Ralph Williams, an award-winning correspondent, to Central Louisiana. This begs the question - was it a riot or a . louisiana - alexandria louisiana stock illustrations. The Alexandria, Louisiana Lee Street Riot," it generated renewed (albeit temporary) local interest in the subject. Today, it exists only on a website Lavergnes company, Kinetix, built for the organization that had commissioned the mural. In her later years, Compton handed the annualmemorial wreath-laying traditionto the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club after she was unable to continue. There were 22 homicides in Alexandria in 2020, or 14.5 per 100,000 people -- more than double the 6.5 per 100,000 national murder rate. Lamar is best known for his investigative reporting on public corruption, racism, and civil rights. While there is scant evidence of premeditation or planning, his initial reporting on deaths was later corroborated, at least in part, by White officers themselves. Get the latest History stories in your inbox? "Due to a preponderance of various interviews and testimony from many parties, including an extremely detailed letter from somebody who was there that night, many researchers believe that Holly Oak Cemetery is where African-American soldiers may have been buried in a mass grave," Wynne said. Nearly forgotten in Alexandria'shistory is a chapter known to only a few thathas been passed down orally for many years. Rumors spread, and soon many Republicans were convinced Bentley had been killed, though he managed to escape with his life. The town makes most of its annual revenue by doling out speeding tickets, under the regime of Police Chief James Speedy Gonzales. Legal Advocate. The Caucasian of Alexandria, Louisiana, was founded in April 1874, one year after the infamous Colfax Massacre (or Colfax Riot) in neighboring Grant Parish, a political conflict that resulted in the death of as many as 150 African Americans.Bearing the motto "Truth Crushed to Earth Will Rise Again," the Caucasian reported on the prosecution of the massacre's white participants . He didn't witness the incident but heard about it and the aftermath. In the 1990s,William M. Simpson, former Louisiana College history professor, interviewed scores of peopleincluding former policemen, former state troopers and civilians and included their stories in his articleA Tale Untold? April 7, 2011 contributed by: Michael Stolp-Smith. And then, according to this witness, once that happened, he says, quote, 'All hell broke loose.'". In 1941, the 367th Negro Infantry Regiment (later renamed the 364th) was one of the earliest African-American combat units. The population was 1,659 at the 2000 census. Albert H. Leonard, a Shreveport Times editor, power broker, and prominent White Leaguer, began calling on his fellow paramilitaries that summer of 1874 to murder Republican political leaders and instill fear . 1845-1918. the great harbour at alexandria - alexandria louisiana stock illustrations. Rhodes remembers stories from her grandmother about Saturday nights on Lee St. in Alexandria. But, this appears to be a positive one that could help solve the mystery posed in the anonymous letter. The Ritz Theater was demolished in the late 1970s, as were several other buildings. That Saturday night in 1942 was like any other, said Wynne. Landrians reacted to armed Negroes and rumors of an uprising in the same manner that Southerners had reacted for generations, wrote historian Carolyn deLatte in 1976. Today, most of those soldiers and most of the civilians who witnessed the pandemonium are dead; records are missing or were destroyed. If you make it to Forest Hill, the self-proclaimed nursery capital of Louisiana, turn around; youve gone too far. It is time after nearly eight decades to find the truth of what really happened on the night of Saturday, January 10, 1942. Today, Lee Street is a pastiche of empty lots and neglected buildings, with very few prospects for revitalization. Dr. Bristol is a history professor at the University of Southern Mississippi and says it appears the violence started when a black soldier stepped in front of a car driven by a white woman. Only slightly better known is the 1873 Colfax massacre in which an estimated 60 to 150 people were killeda massacre largely following the pattern set by Opelousas. Only weeks earlier the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor had "Others say a massacre occurred in a matter that reportedly lasted between 2 and 6 hours. Camp Claiborne was situated in Rapides Parish about 18 miles south of Alexandria, off the intersection of US Highway 165 and present day La Highway 112, just north of the town of Forest Hill. The Opelousas massacre also set the stage for future acts of violence and intimidation. Something happened that night. A memorial to the three white men who died during the Colfax Massacre stands in the town cemetery Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Colfax, La. Among others, Simpson spoke with David Iles, the longtime principal of Peabody High School who had been injured that night, and Louis Berry, a local civil rights pioneer and the first Black attorney admitted to the local bar association. The Louisiana Democrat. The police and the military as well as the military police cornered off an eight block area for hours, says Wynne. That's one more homicide than the . The City of Alexandria will be placing a historic marker along Lee St. at the site of the 1941 violence. By most accounts, between 2,000 and 3,000 people, the overwhelming majority of whom were African American, had been present that night on Lee Street, and almost immediately after the first shot was fired, Black soldiers began protesting. 160 Fox Fire Ln USD 27 Jun 04 75th Anniversary Celebration. A November 1942 memo to the Secretary of War from Truman Gibson, Civilian Aide to the Secretary, detailed "violent and abusive treatment of Negro military personnel by civilian public authorities in the South." It listed incidents in Alexandria, La., Columbia, S.C., Norfolk, Va., Mobile and Montgomery, Ala., Beaumont, Texas and Little Rock . The number of soldiersand possibly civilianskilled is unknown. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Little could the Ohio-born Republican have predicted just how soon that violence would come about. As legend has it, someone got the bright (and likely drunken) idea to hijack a tank and drive it into town. "I don't know how I got to safety after the riot," a black trainee at Camp Claiborne recalled. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was also home to more landholders. The Town Talk reported that 30 gas bombs were used that night by the Alexandria Police Department to quell the disturbance among the reported 3,000 African-Americans present," he said. A 2003 article in the Alexandria Town Talk, part of the USA TODAY Network, states that . 298 results. New Orleans fell to the US Army early, in April 1862. The violent crime rate in Alexandria, Louisiana, of 968 incidents per 100,000 people is among the highest in the United States. Nearly half a million men were stationed at camps near Alexandria.
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