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| Click to see full size. (Press Ctrl and + keys to see even larger image) Illustrations depicting the incident with additional information. |
Watch this PBS video clip about the event - Or read this narration:
In the summer of 1874, Marshall Twitchell went to New Orleans for the Republican state convention. His brother-in-law, Frank Edgerton, the sheriff of Coushatta, wrote him a letter warning that some of the leading men in town had formed a chapter of the White League. "The purpose of the White League," Edgerton wrote, "is [the] extermination of the carpet bag [white liberal Republicans who had come South to assist blacks in the post-slavery period] element. Nothing more nor less." Twitchell's reply was intercepted by the League and published in the local paper. He wanted to call in federal troops, he had written. But they would only come if some "overt act" were committed. . .
The White League was also looking for an incident. Members staged random attacks on blacks, and when a white man was wounded in one confrontation, they had what they needed. Claiming the Twitchell clan was behind a black rebellion, they siezed Twitchell's brother, Homer, his three brothers-in-law Clark Holland, Henry Scott, and Sheriff Edgerton, and twenty of their black allies. They were forced to sign a document promising to resign and to leave Louisiana forever. . .
Escorted by guards, the white Republicans left Coushatta, carrying all their money and valuables. They headed for Texas. . . Homer and two others were killed instantly. The other three were captured and shot along with all twenty of the blacks. All were buried in shallow graves. The following morning, Twitchell got the terrible news. The Coushatta massacre made headlines across the country. Many people were shocked that the violence in the South was now targeting whites.
For weeks following the massacre, local black leaders slept in the woods at night. The massacre was part of a larger push to take back Louisiana from the Republicans. On September 14th, the White Leaguers struck in New Orleans, seizing the Republican-run legislature in a bloody battle. President Grant was alarmed. He had been reluctant to send more troops to the South. But he could not allow this armed insurrection to go unchallenged. The next day, Grant ordered the army to occupy New Orleans. Federal troops entered the State House and forcibly removed the White League representatives, reinstating the Republican government. Twitchell went back to Coushatta escorted by soldiers from the Third U.S. Infantry. He carried with him a long list of suspects.
SOURCE: PBS
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