New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-04-26
THE GRANT PARISH TROUBLE
SHORT STATEMENT or THE ORIGIN
The Result of Taking Offices By Force

an insight into the true history OF the
origin of the Grant parish troubles, with
the progress and final elimination in the
unexampled butchery at the courthouse on
Easter Sunday.
The whole difficulty is traceable directly
back to the system adopted by the Fusion
lists of taking torcible possession Of Offices
to which they claimed to have been
elected, and which claims were disputed by
the Republicans. About the time that
Judge Elmore appeared at the head of an
armed force and ousted Judge Dibble from
The bench of the Eighth District Court in
this city, the Fusion candidates who claimed
20 have been elected TO the Offices in Grant
received commissions from Governor
Warmoth. Most Of tho !ncumbents
being in this category, ard with
their friends for the rest Of the offices,
the transition was comparatively easy.
This took place in January. In Rapides,
Catahoula, Gatchitoches, Vim, Franklin
and the other Red river parishes, however,
these commissions sent out by Warmoth
were not treated with the same respect,
dusI Tic usloulntS uHlh
the pretended inauguration of McEnery,
which took place on the thirteenth of Jan
nary. Thereupon be made out duplicate
commissions and sent them mp; and taking
pattern again from the Fusion leaders in
the city, who lIade an attempt upon the
police stations and the sheriff's Office, with
out success, however, the noble army of
Office seekers IN eight or ten parishes
made general movement, and
succeeded in installing themselves in
the coveted positions, The Republicans Of
Grant, who had been expelled by force,
naturally thought that the only agency by
which they could regain what they deemed
20 be their rights. and accordingly took
measures 20 install their candidates, think
ing, doubtless. they had q right TO do IN
one parish what their opponents had sue
cessfnlly attempted in eight or ten, and
tried but failed to accomplish in Orleans.
Accordingly Shaw. the sheriff, Register,
Brastley and the rest, applied TO Captain
Ward, who is regularly commissioned in
the militia, for force to aid them. Ward
called together his militia. and succeeded
in retakiug all the Offices and maintaining
possession.
1t NAV be proper to state here that it is
the curse of the whole Red river country,
especially in RapideR, that the judges,
sherihs etc, are totally wanting in the
qualities required in such officers, and from
motives which we may suppose, but do not
wish to express, invariably neglected to
bring disturbers of the peace to trial and
punishment This policy Of non action en-
boldened the bad. invited them to the COM
mission of all manner of crimes, and drove
citizens, who were disposed TO be peaceaHe
and lava biding, to adopt forcible meas
ures IN sclf.detense.
The Republican officials of Grant, there
fore. employed the only means left them to
obtain the places to which they had been
elected and commissioned, The oustlpg OF
the Fusion officers created great excite
ment-more for one little parish than for
all tha others which had been captured by
the other party. Messengers were sent to
the white people living ia the hills Of Grant
TO rally in force to retake the Offices. These
generally refused to respond. Rapides was
applied to and a force was sent up from
there, which marched within ten miles of
Colfax captured Calhoun. and TOOK him to
Alexandria prisoner. Finding that the
better part Of the white people were rather
apathetic. they sent Out messengers to
Catahoula, Vim, Franklin and the sur
rounding parishes, with the fearful story
that the negroes threatened to Kill all the
white men and reserve the women for the
purpose of raising a better race of people.
This wicked. absurd and entirely un-
founded story had the desired effect.
Thoughtiess and characteress young men
armed and put themselves under
command of the designing fellows who
were bent npon success at any hazard.
Rapide5 sent up about thirty men, not half
a dozen of whose names appear upon the
assessment rolls; eighty or more came in
from Catahoula; about thirty from Grant,
including the claimants OF the offices, re-
spondcd, and the rest came from Winns-
boro'. Franklin parish. Natchitoches, Winn,
Bossier, and even from CaddO in all num-
boring about ITo hundred and fifty. Ar
rived in Grant, they were placed under
command Of Nash, who had convinced him
self that he was sheriff of the parish, and
the armed men around him were his posse
eomitatus. An Incorporate demand
WAS made upon the occupants of
the courthouse 10 surrender. which was
refused, and the assault was made. The
fighting is described to have been fierce,
aud lasted from ten o'clock until dark.
The negroes were eDtr6nched behind torti-
tications hastily thrown up, and stoutty
maintained their ground uDtil small how
itzer was loaded with irsu bolts and fired
at them This created a panic, as they be-
artillery the force sud character or which
they of course knew nothing about They
thereupon retreated into the courthouse,
where thew occupied Il really impregnable
position. The ASSISTANTS were, up to this
moment, really baffled. They had sustained
a loss of twenty or thirty Killed, and
il is believed, had not killed single
negro. Something must be done soon, or a
refrest WAS inevitable. They therefore ap-
nroached the lower end of the courthouse,
which has neither window nor door. and
forced negro whom they had captured in
the field. under cover CT their guns, to set
fire to the cypress rOCt with 0lazing loren.
The burning root bad the effect to stam-
pede the inmates, when little presence OF
mind wculd have saved them hy pushing
tbe shingles from the roof, aud thus check
ing the hre- = A.
ing building and the courthouse yard, they
nsed their handkerchiefs, pieces of shirt,
cr whatever they could get hold OF as nags
Of truce to denote their surrender. These
we're held aloft in one hand. But the IN,
censed assailants disregarded the sign ana
engaged the disarmed and helpless fellows
at close quarters. III was III tHis uioouy
business that Hadnot and Harris lost their
lies II ia believed they were endeavorlng
to nut an end to the butchery. and IN DONG
this threw themselves among the helpless
negrocs and were killed by the white men.
Utrri. was shot in the back, and Hadnot
rec.ived a horis 1ntal shot that passed from
one side to the other through his stomach
II is kgoyn that both these men were uu-
bnrt mn II the exodus o. the negroes from
the burning building. and that mona Of the
irgitiyea had arIas in their hands in their
fiiTht. TIE conclusion is inevitable there
lore. that the story OF their being basel!
murdered b. the negroes under me IIre OF
a a. If trure, i base f, hgication. There