John AutryOn this day in 1873 the Colfax Massacre occurred. Set against the backdrop of racial tensions following the hotly contested Louisiana governor’s race of 1872.
On April 13, Easter Sunday, more than 300 armed white men, including members of white supremacist organizations such as the Knights of White Camellia and the Ku Klux Klan, attacked the Courthouse building. When the militia maneuvered a cannon to fire on the Courthouse, some of the black defenders fled while others surrendered.
When the leader of the attackers was accidentally shot by one of his own men, the white militia responded by shooting the black prisoners. Those wounded in the earlier battle, particularly black militia members, were singled out for execution. The indiscriminate killing spread to African Americans who had not been at the courthouse and continued into the night.
