1898 — Nov 10, White Racial Riot & Political Violence (local coup d’état), Wilmington, NC–22-26

Compiled by B. Wayne Blanchard in Dec 2012 and June 2020 for incorporation into website: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com

–22-26 Blanchard, using numbers from the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission report of
2006, which notes that the deaths noted by the source showing twenty-six deaths could not be substantiated above the twenty-two noted in the report.

–Hundreds. Twagilimana, Aimable. “Wilmington [NC] Riot of 1898,” p. 718, in Rucker.
–Perhaps dozens. Tyson. “The Ghosts of 1898: Wilmington’s Race Riot…” News & Observer, 11-17-2006, H1.
–60-300 Cane. “Not Just Tulsa: Five Other Race Massacres…” BET TV, June 2020.
— 250 Faulkner. “Wilmington Race Riot.” Derived from Encyclopedia of [NC]. 2006.
–20-100 Hofstadter and Wallace. American Violence: A Documentary History. 1970, p. 230.
— 100 Kirk, Rev. J. Allen (wrote that a woman told him she thought over 100 were killed.
— 90 NPR. “How the Only Coup D’état in U.S. History Unfolded.” 8-17-2008.
— 14-90 Hayden, Harry. The Story of The Wilmington Rebellion. 1936.
–14 Cited is the black coroner, David Jacobs.
–20 Cited in Colonel Waddell estimate.
–90 “a gross exaggeration” attributed to Judge George Rountree.
— 14-60 Collins. “A Buried Coup D’état in the United States.” The New Yorker, 9-12-2016.
— >30 The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO. “A historical perspective.” 1-20-2000, A8.
— 26 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission. 1898 Wilmington…Report. 2006, 179-180.
— 22 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission. 1898 Wilmington…Report. 2006, 177-178.
— >20 (blacks). Book Review: Prather. We Have Taken a City: Wilmington Racial… 1984.
— 18-20 Worth, James, in letter to wife. Cited in 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Comm. P. 175.
— 12-15 Parsley (Wilmington Chamber of Commerce member). Cited in 1898 Wilmington…, p. 175.
— 14 to scores or hundreds. NC Dept. Cultural Resources. “Alex Manly 1866-1944,” hwy marker.
— >13 Kirk, Rev. J. Allen. (Wrote that a white saw 10 dead and “some” found dead under homes.)
— 10-12 Clawson. “The Wilmington Race Riot in 1898: Recollections and Memories.” P175 in 1898…
— 11 Faulkner. “Wilmington Race Riot.” Derived from Encyclopedia of [NC]. 2006.
— 11 Knight, Gladys L. “Election Riots of the 1880s and 1890s,” in Rucker/Upton. 2007, 203.
— ~11 Mallett, Peter (Fayetteville businessman note in his daybook). Cited in 1898…Race…, p.175.
— 11 Progressive Farmer, Raleigh NC. 11-15-1898; cited in report of 1898 Wilmington…, p176.
— 10 (Killed outright, as reported in Raleigh, NC on Nov 12. P. 175 in 1898 Wilmington…
— 10 “Wilmington Coup” historic marker, outside Wilmington Light Infantry bldg., Wilmington.
— 9 The News, Frederick, MD. “Killed in Race Riots. Nine Negroes…” 11-11-1898, 1.
— 8 Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh WI. “Resort to Violence. Angry Whites…” 11-10-1898, 1.
— 7 Franklin, John D. (black restaurateur who assisted coroner Jacobs. P. 175 in 1898.
— 6-7 Rountree, in Williamson. “The Wilmington Riot,” in The Crucible of Race. 1984, 201.

Narrative Information

1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission: “Dead and Wounded.”

“Of the men who received the inquest, burial for John Townsend, Charles Lindsay, William Mouzon, John Gregory, Josh Halsey and Dan Wright took place on the eleventh. [Footnote 57 at this point notes “Only two grave markers in Pine Forest Cemetery bear death dates related to the riot. Josh Halsey’s entry recorded that he was born around 1846, and died November 10, 1898 of a gunshot and was buried in the Halsey family plot, section C. Sam McFarland’s record indicated that he was born in South Carolina around 1850, ‘died of a gunshot in his body’ on November 12, 1898, and was buried in lot M or N, section 2.”] (p. 173)….

“The News and Observer had a correspondent in the city who observed that he…watched as men in an undertaker’s office on Second Street made wooden coffins for 6 men….” (p. 174, column 1)

“In response to the call by doctors, representatives of the Red Cross and others traveled through the city late in the day and into the eleventh to tend to the needs of the wounded and take them to the hospital. Several black men who were taken to the hospital were identified. Dan Wright, riddled with at least 13 bullets and left to lie in the street, was taken to the hospital late in the afternoon of the riot and died from his wounds the next day. Taken to the hospital on the eleventh were George Henry Davis (shot 6 times), George Miller (shot 2 times), John Dow (shot 2 times), Alfred White, William Lindsay, Sam McFarland (shot 4 times and died on November 12), and John R. Davis (shot in kidneys and back). On the twelfth, John Brown or J. William Bryan, was admitted with 3 bullet wounds in his left leg and one in his right.

“Dr. Robert Zachary, resident at the Wilmington City Hospital, gave his colleagues insight into his job as it was affected by the riot when, in 1899, he spoke to the North Carolina Medical Society Convention about his treatments of gunshot victims. His short report of the treatment given men wounded in the riot described treatment and wounds for 2 white and 12 black men who were admitted to the hospital on November 10. Zachary observed that ‘all except the two white men were shot in the back’ and that one of the white men had been shot in the foot. All of the men admitted that day recovered except 2 black me who died soon after arriving at the hospital. Zachary prided himself on the fact that ‘twelve of the fourteen will perhaps live to tell their grandchildren of their experience…” [p. 174, column 2.]

“As to the actual number of dead, contemporary sources and subsequent accountings have varied greatly. ‘There has always been a tendency to minimize or magnify the casualties’ said Harry Hayden, explaining that many victims were ‘removed from time to time from places of hiding under buildings, houses and shanties and in the woods’ after dying from their wounds. [The Hayden referred to is Harry Hayden, a former Wilmington Morning Star reporter, who wrote a pamphlet published in 1936 entitled The Story of The Wilmington Rebellion.] The Wilmington Evening Dispatch predicted that an accurate count of the dead would never be recorded. Thomas Clawson, editor of the Wilmington Messenger, stated that 10 to 12 blacks died and 2 whites were seriously wounded. George Rountree believed that 6 or 7 blacks were killed. Willie Parsley believed that 12 to 15 were killed. Fayetteville businessman Peter Mallett recorded in his daybook that 8 blacks and several whites were reported dead as a result of the riot. James Worth wrote his wife that ‘there couldn’t have been less than 18 or 20 blacks killed and scores wounded.’

“African American restaurant owner John D. Franklin recalled that he worked with coroner Jacobs and saw 4 dead men at the funeral home plus one man dead at his home on Sixth between Brunswick and Bladen. Franklin also recalled that 2 black men died at the hospital.

“Rev. J. Allen Kirk wrote that the streets were ‘dotted’ with dead, and a white man informed him that he saw 10 men at the undertaker’s office. Kirk also noted that some dead were found later because of the ‘stench and miasma that came forth from their decaying bodies under their houses.’ Kirk claimed that an eyewitness told him that she believed that more than 100 people [were] killed.

“In Raleigh it was reported on the twelfth that 10 were dead outright and that at least 25 were seriously wounded. [end of p. 175]

“….These varying accounts from local and statewide sources, many by witnesses, prove that no actual number of dead will ever be known. For the purposes of this report, an attempt was made to identify dead from as many sources as possible and compare those sources to eliminate duplication. The following list provides, with as much detail as possible, the names of dead and wounded men and the location in which they were murdered. The names of some dead will remain unknown whereas others have been identified. Again, due to the paucity of definitive sources on the names of the dead, the locations where murders took place, and conflicting information provided by existing sources, no accurate tally can be made. It is unclear if Wilmington’s whites sought to cover up many of the deaths or if they were boastful of the numbers of dead. Another impediment to making calculations is the scarcity of tombstones to mark the graves of men who died immediately as well as those who died from their wounds after languishing in the hospital and homes of Brooklyn. [end of p. 176]

Pages 177-179 contain a table of identified and unidentified dead and wounded. We do not attempt to duplicate the table, but summarize and number the deaths:

1. Unknown. Killed at Carolina Central Tracks west of 2nd on Harnett.
2. Unknown. Killed east of railroad repair shop near Third street.
3. Unknown. Killed at Manhattan Park.
4. Unknown. Killed at Fourth Street bridge.
5. Unknown. Killed at Seventh and Bladen.
6. Unknown. Killed (supposed dead) on Fourth near Red Cross.
7. Unknown. Killed at Tenth and Princess after failing to stop for a patrol.
8. Unknown. Killed at railroad tracks on 11th by a soldier.
9. Unknown. Killed at Tenth and Mulberry for failing to stop for a patrol.
10. Bizzell, [Gray]. Killed at home on 411 Harnett.
11. Gregory, John L. Between Third and Harnett and Swann.
12. Gregory, Sam. Died between Harnett and Swann.
13. Halsey, Josh. Killed on Bladen near Seventh.
14. Lindsay, Charles. “…among first killed at Fourth and Harnett, age, 25.”
15. McFallon, Sam. Found under house on Fourth between Harnett and Swann; died in Hosp.
16. McFarland, Sam. Shot on Harnett at SAL tracks and thought dead.
17. Miller, George. Either dead (one report) or expected to die in a hospital (in another).
18. Mouzon, William. “…among first killed at Fourth and Harnett.”
19. Peamon, Carter. Shot as he jumped off train.
20. Rowan, Tom. Bar owner killed on wharf.
21. Townsend, John. “Among first killed at Fourth and Harnett.”
22. Wright, Daniel. Shot and died at hospital on 11th.

Nine people noted as wounded and their fate unknown. Pp. 178-179.

(1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission (LeRae Umfleet, Principal Researcher). “Dead and Wounded,” pp. 173-174 in:1898 Wilmington Race Riot Report. North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Office of Archives and History, Research Branch. May 31, 2006.

Knight: “The Wilmington, North Carolina, riot of the same year [Phoenix, SC violence, 1898] decimated the prosperous black community of Brooklyn [a neighborhood]. The origins of the riot can be traced back to white Democrats who were conspiring to remove the remaining black Republicans who held political offices and seats on the city council in Wilmington. Whites found their cause when Alex Manly, the editor of a local black newspaper, published an anti-lynching article that claimed that white men were as guilty of assaulting black women as the black men they accused of assaults against white women.

“This affront gave whites an opportunity to subdue their political adversaries, as well as to damage the well-to-do black community of Brooklyn. White mobs destroyed Manly’s press and attacked blacks. Although ‘black officials resigned in a vain attempt to prevent further violence,’ at least 11 blacks were murdered and 1,500 Brooklyn blacks left their homes, which were then seized by whites at low cost. Only one black politician remained – George H. White, a congressman who represented Wilmington and North Carolina’s second district. White ‘served out the remainder of his term and then moved north’ (Hine et al., 318 ).” (Knight, Gladys L. “Election Riots of the 1880s and 1890s,” pp. 203-207 in Rucker, Walter C. and James N. Upton (Eds.). Encyclopedia of American Race Riots (Vol. 1 of 2). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007.)

NPR: “Think of a coup d’état and images of a far-flung banana republic likely come to mind. So it might come as a surprise that it happened here in the United States — just once, in 1898. A mob of white supremacists armed with rifles and pistols marched on City Hall in Wilmington, N.C., on Nov. 10 and overthrew the elected local government, forcing both black and white officials to resign and running many out of town. The coup was the culmination of a race riot in which whites torched the offices of a black newspaper and killed a number of black residents. No one is sure how many African-Americans died that day, but some estimates say as many as 90 were killed….

“Especially chilling was the fact that the insurgency had been carefully planned — a conspiracy by powerful white Democrats. Southern Democrats lost their grip on power in North Carolina in 1894 and plotted to wrest control from the biracial Republican Party in 1898 elections. They campaigned on a platform of white supremacy and protecting their women from black men. As
The Nov. 8, 1898, vote approached, whites in Wilmington mobilized. They held supremacist rallies and parades and organized militias of “Red Shirts” to intimidate blacks from voting. The statewide election restored Democrats to power, and two days later, the white supremacists descended on Wilmington’s City Hall. Their leader, Col. Alfred Moore Waddell, had publicly threatened in a pre-election speech to “choke the current of the Cape Fear River” with black bodies, according to a 2006 report chronicling the events by the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission. After the coup, Waddell was elected mayor of Wilmington.

“North Carolina Democrats began passing a flurry of Jim Crow laws in 1899, and new voting restrictions further disenfranchised blacks through a poll tax and literacy test….” (NPR. “How the Only Coup D’état in U.S. History Unfolded.” 8-17-2008.)

NC Dept. Cultural Resources: “Marker Text:

“ALEX MANLY 1866-1944

“Edited black-owned Daily Record four blocks east. Mob burned his office, Nov. 10, 1898, leading to ‘race riot’ & restrictions on black voting in N.C.

“Essay:

“The events of November 10, 1898, in Wilmington constitute a landmark in North Carolina history. Over a century later some details are still in question. The number of casualties, for example, is disputed with the total running from the coroner’s fourteen to unconfirmed reports of scores or even hundreds of deaths. All of the victims were black. More certain is the fact that the event marked the climax of the white supremacy campaign of 1898 and a turning point in the state’s history. Restriction on black voting followed soon thereon marking the onset of the Jim Crow era of segregation.

“What is traditionally termed a “race riot” has also been called a massacre, rebellion, revolt, race war, and coup d’état. The peculiar circumstances of the Wilmington events, involving the removal of the legally elected mayor and city council and installation of revolt leader Alfred Moore Waddell, make this last term an apt one.

“Waddell, a former Confederate officer and U.S. Congressman, in the days preceding the election of 1898 called for the removal of the Republicans and Populists then in power in Wilmington and proposed in a speech at Thalian Hall that the white citizens, if necessary, “choke the Cape Fear with carcasses.” What had particularly incensed Waddell and others was the publication in August of an editorial in the Daily Record, a local black-owned newspaper. Alex Manly (1866-1944), the editor, charged that “poor white men are careless in the matter of protecting their women” and that “our experience among poor white people in the country teaches us that women of that race are not any more particular in the matter of clandestine meetings with colored men than the white men with colored women.” The sexually charged editorial, reprinted across the state, provided Democrats with an issue to inflame racial tensions as Election Day approached. Yet the day passed without notable incident.

“At 8:00 A.M. two days later about 500 white men assembled at the armory of the Wilmington Light Infantry and, after several others declined, Waddell took on the task of leading them to the Daily Record office in Free Love Hall four blocks south of Seventh Street between Nun and Church Streets. The crowd swelled to perhaps 2,000 as they moved across town. Manly, in the meantime, had fled the city, as had numerous other blacks in expectation of violence. The mob broke into the building, a fire broke out, and the top floor of the building was consumed. The crowd posed for a photograph in front of the burned-out frame. Within hours violence had spread to other parts of the city.

“Dr. Silas P. Wright, the white Republican mayor, resigned under pressure as did members of the city council and other officers, both black and white. Waddell then took office as mayor. The revolt had the support of many of the most powerful men in the city. George Rountree, an attorney and adviser to the coup leaders, in 1899 served as chairman of the state legislative committee of constitutional reform that drafted and sponsored the so-called “Grandfather Clause,” providing that male citizens could vote if they could read and write or if their grandfather voted, thereby denying most blacks the franchise.

“The Wilmington “race riot” of 1898 has been widely written about by historians and novelists. Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition (1901), Thomas Dixon’s The Leopard’s Spots (1902), and Philip Gerard’s Cape Fear Rising (1994) used the event as a backdrop. A symposium held at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in November 1998 commemorated the centennial and sparked renewed interest in the subject. In 2000 the General Assembly authorized the creation of the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission to study the event and its impact. That group delivered its final report and recommendations to the General Assembly in May 2006.” (North Carolina Department Of Cultural Resources, Office of Archives & History. North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program (website). “Alex Manly 1866-1955.” 2008.)

Twagilimana: “The Wilmington (North Carolina) Riot of 1898 was a violent coup d’état engineered by the North Carolina Democratic Party, resulting in the death of hundreds of African American residents of Wilmington, the forceful expulsion of thousands of others, and the removal of a democratically elected government of black and white Republicans and Fusionists. The ultimate goal of this white supremacy rebellion was to reverse the political and economic progress African Americans had made since Reconstruction (1865-1877)….

“The immediate cause of the riot is found in the result of the 1894, 1896, and 1898 elections in Wilmington, which white democrats lost to Republicans and Fusionists, a relatively large number of whom were black. As a result of these democratic elections, blacks were appointed to various positions in the administration of the city, leading white Democrats to cry foul over what they called Negro domination. If a number of African Americans had achieved real economic and political power, this constituted a threat to white supremacists, who could not tolerate such a rise to power….

“The North Carolina newspapers played a critical role in the campaign to disenfranchise African Americans in Wilmington. For example, the Raleigh News and Observer and the Wilmington Messenger ran a ruthless campaign demeaning African Americans in general but reserving the most severe disparagement for black civil servants and professionals. In the months leading to the 1898 elections, newspapers were saturated with articles that depicted lawlessness, black self-assertion and takeover, and sexual crimes by blacks, a favorite pretext for white supremacists to start mass violence against blacks in the post-Reconstruction South….

“On November 9, 1898, the day after the election that the Democrats had lost to Republicans and Fusionists, the Secret Nine at the forefront of the violence presented what they called the ‘White Declaration of Independence,’ rejecting the black man’s right to vote and hold office and calling for the government to be given to the white population paying most of the taxes. For the Secret Nine, only whites had the right to a job in the city….” (Twagilimana, Aimable. “Wilmington [NC] Riot of 1898,” pp. 717-722 in: Rucker, Walter C. and James N. Upton (Eds.). Encyclopedia of American Race Riots (Vol. 2 of 2). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007.)

Newspapers:

Sep 30: “Raleigh, N.C., September 30. – (Staff Correspondence) – The white race and the black race in North Carolina are engaged to-day in a momentous struggle for supremacy. Although it has been conducted in peace, without loss of life or even the letting of blood, it is as much a war for conquest as was ever fought and won or lost by armed hosts.

“The black race, united, solid, aggressive, is marching as one man against, the divided white with the avowed purpose of over-throwing what slight vestige of their power remains and setting up themselves a sovereign negro state. Then they will repeal the laws against inter-marriage between the races and mixed schools, and all other laws which, in any manner, shape or form, provide for separate accommodation for whites and blacks. This may be denied for political effect, but there is abundant evidence to sustain the assertion, and the evidence is furnished by the colored people. Their aim is to colonize and negroize North Carolina and to so firmly establish themselves in possession that the black race will flock here form other Southern States.

“….If their plan succeeds, North Carolina is to be the refuge of their people in America. Their brethren from all the Southern States will be invited to come here, cast their lot among their fellows and together to work out their destiny in whatsoever degree of prosperity and advancement they may be able to achieve for themselves.

“This is no fairy story, no invention of the imagination, but a vital reality, for the invitation is going out even now and the word is spreading far and wide. I heard it Wednesday on the southern border of the State from reputable witnesses who had that day returned from South Carolina. Yesterday it was told to me by men who had just come from Virginia. The negroes in the adjoining States are discussing it and are enthused, and the idea is spreading in ever widening
concentric circles. “If North Carolina goes Republican again this year, we intend to move over there. The negro has more rights there than anywhere else.” This was the substance of the talk in both South Carolina and Virginia. The blacks are very much dissatisfied with the political conditions in the former Slates and are anxious to get away….

“The blacks are bent on capturing the State and carrying out their plan of colonization. They do not want to drive the white man out, but to have a State in which they will be supreme. It has been suggested that some of the blacks would prefer that the whites stay in order to lord it over them….

The Menace to Womanhood.

“And then there is the other danger, greatest of all, the menace to the womanhood of the State, the constant and growing peril of each man’s wife and daughter. That is the thought which is seared in the mind and on the heart of every man who loves his family. I know it to be a fact that the operatives in the cotton mills and the tobacco factories and the various shops and manufacturing concerns all through the State have given more attention to this phase of the subject than to any other.

“Fusion and the accession of the blacks to power have lessened the respect and fear of the law among the vicious. Incendiary speeches and writings by black men to black men must have inflamed some of them. Such a tremendous wave of indignation has just swept the State over a published slander on the white women that actual violence by the criminally inclined has to be cheeked. But if the campaign of the blacks for the conquest of the State succeeds this fall, an epidemic of assaults upon the unprotected in the country is predicted.

“This has aroused the pure woman-hood of North Carolina from the seashore to the mountains. They are asking their husbands and sons how they intend to vote—for the wives and mothers and sisters or for negro supremacy and a reign of terror?

“….The worst feature of black supremacy here comes from the character of negroes who get the offices. The intelligent, honest and respectable colored men are not in control, but the ignorant and dishonest members of the race receive the spoils. One of the educated, upright, respected colored men in Goldsboro, I think it was, stated that it would be useless for him to apply for an appointment or run for a nomination. The other class of his people would defeat him with some barkeeper or other man of low associations among his race. ‘There is no encouragement from his own people for a decent man to try to do something for himself and his race,’ he said…. In Tarboro, Edgecombe county, the Republican nominee for coroner was pointed out. He is a black drayman who cannot make out an intelligent and correct expense account for holding an inquest…. In Newbern, Craven county, Isaac H. Smith, the Republican nominee for the Legislature, has been twice convicted of forgery and he was finally let off by the negro solicitor….

“The situation in Wilmington is worse in some respects than in Newbern. A special chapter must be devoted to Wilmington to tell of the outrages of the negro officials there….”

(The Landmark, Statesville, NC. “Blacks Propose to Colonize and Control North Carolina. They are at Work on a Startling Solution of the Race Problem. A War for Conquest. The Negroes are Solidly United to Capture the State. They Want Commonwealth of Their Own. In the Struggle the Whites are Divided –How the Blacks Have Attained Domination and Exercise Their Power. (Frank Weldon in The Atlanta Constitution.” 10-14-1898, p. 1.)

Oct 14: “The business men of Wilmington have held a meeting and taken steps to substitute white for negro laborers. By their conduct the negroes of Wilmington have made themselves a menace to the community and the men who furnish them employment and consequently a support are determined that they will no longer give them aid and comfort.” (The Landmark, Statesville, NC. “State News.” 10-14-1898, p. 10.)

Oct 24: “Wilmington, N.C., Oct. 24, ´98. Hon. D. L. Russell [Governor], Raleigh, N.C.:

“`Dear Sir: We have been deeply concerned during the past week by the very excited state of our inhabitants, in view of the approaching election, which threatens to provoke a war between the white and black races. We have frequently observed during political campaigns in the past, a degree of hostilities which, at times, appeared to threaten the public peace, but which passed off when wiser counsel prevailed; but the present state of excitement is apparently and really beyond bounds, and we make to you our declaration that we are on the brink of a revolution, which can only be averted by the suppression of a Republican ticket.

“`The white people and tax payers generally, protest that they have been driven to desperation, and we have no hesitation in saying that even the usual indiscretion of political partisans on the next election day will precipitate a conflict which may cost hundreds and perhaps thousands of lives, and the partial, or entire, destruction of the city.

“`We, therefore, on behalf of the conservative business firms in Wilmington, deeply interested in the peace and welfare of our community, entreat you, as the representative of the Republican party here, to meet the emergency and avert a calamity by the means which we have indicated, or by some other personal or political sacrifice which would be gratefully recognized and approved by our conservative and patriotic people, who look to you in this extremity.

“Respectfully,
Alex Sprunt & Sons,
John Wilber Atkinson,
J. H. Sloan,
Wm. Gilchrist,
Corbett & Gore.

“Governor Russell’s reply was as follows:

“Gentlemen: The substance of your letter is that the Republican ticket of New Hanover county must be suppressed; that is, that the Republican voters of that county shall not vote the ticket of their party. That if they do so, there will be revolution and conflict which may cost hundreds and perhaps thousands of lives, and the partial or utter destruction of the city.

“Who constitute—who are the men on this Republican ticket! The Republican convention of New Hanover county has not nominated a ticket. According to my information they propose to nominate a ticket that will be composed, with one exception, of white men. That exception is the register of deeds, a colored man, who has held that office for two years, who, I am informed and believe, is competent and has made a reasonably good officer, and as to whom I have heard no complaint as to his official conduct.

“The Republicans propose, as I am informed, to vote for the following members of the Legislature: For the Senate, B. F. Keith; for the House, D. L. Gore and R. B. Davis.

“Now who are these men? Mr. Keith is a reputable merchant of your city. He was voted for by perhaps 90 per cent of the Democrats of your county in the last election as an elector on the presidential ticket and was elected by the people of North Carolina by a majority of some 20,000.

“Captain R. B. Davis has been for many years a leading man in North Carolina. He has been one of the leaders of the Democratic party in the State. He has been elected by their votes and has served as one of their most important men in the State Legislature. He is a gentleman of education and culture, and an orator of distinction. He was also an elector for the State at large in the last presidential election and was elected by the whole people of the State by some 20,000 majority.

“Mr. D. L. Gore is a man of large property and of extensive business connections. As I understand it, he had generally acted politically with the Democratic party until the election of 1896, when he voted for McKinley.

“All of these men are North Carolinians and are as well connected, as capable and as closely associated with the business, social and material interests of the State as any three men who could be found in your community.

“I am informed that the Republicans of New Hanover are willing to adopt such a ticket for county commissioners as will give the highest assurance of protection of property rights and of honest and economical administration.

“You say the Republican ticket must be suppressed. Do you mean to suppress the Republican ticket, which will be not only to deny the Republicans of New Hanover the privilege of exercising their constitutional right to vote for members of the Legislature and county officers, but also would deny their right to vote for members of Congress and judges and such State officers as are to be voted for in this election? They would thus be deprived not only of their rights under the State constitution, but those secured to them under the United States constitution as well.

Very truly yours,
D. L. Russell, Governor.””

(The Landmark, Statesville, N.C. “The Wilmington Situation.” 11-1-1898, p. 1.)

Oct 28: “A private letter received in Statesville a few days ago from a resident of Wilmington, fully confirms all that has been printed about the awful condition of affairs there. So great is the tension that trouble may be precipitated at any moment. It is said that the negroes are well supplied with arms and of course the white people are fully prepared for any emergency. There is a perfect understanding among the whites as to what shall be done to protect the women and children if there is a conflict. Traveling men say that business is at a standstill in Wilmington; that there is a dreadful calm as if in anticipation of some awful event. May God avert it. But if it comes we hope that those who are responsible for the conditions which brought it on may suffer in consequence rather than their ignorant dupes.” (The Landmark, Statesville, NC. “An Awful State of Affairs at Wilmington.” 10-28-1898, p. 7.)

Nov 1 (Waddell): “What a commentary it is upon our boasted civilization that here, in the most quiet and conservative of the original thirteen States, and at the end of the nineteenth century, we are reduced to the pitiful necessity of choosing whether we will live under the domination of negroes led by a few unprincipled white men, and see the ruin of all we hold dear, or prove ourselves worthy of the respect of mankind by restoring good government at all hazards and at every cost. Yet this is the issue and the only issue in the pending election. There is with the people of eastern North Carolina no question of gold or silver, or tariff, or the like, and still less any question of mere local and factional politics. The man who would, even for a moment, inject such an issue into the contest is both a fool and an enemy of society.

“We are in the presence of a crisis before which all such questions sink into insignificance. The salvation of society depends on the outcome of this election—not the restoration of good government only, or the protection of property, or the reduction of taxation, or of the public expenditures, but all these, together with the preservation of peace, and good order, and prosperity for all of both races. To suppose that under such circumstances North Carolinians will
fail to meet the issue squarely and manfully is to attribute to them an imbecility and a pusillanimity which they have never, in the two hundred years of their history, exhibited, and which would make them forever contemptible in the eyes of tho civilized world.

“Are we less intelligent, or less courageous, or more degraded than the people of the other States who have settled this question for themselves? What is tho matter with us? I will tell you. We are afflicted with an excess of the virtue of forbearance which, beyond a certain point, ceases to be a virtue at all, and becomes a want of self-respect.” (The Landmark, Statesville, N.C. “An Excess of Forbearance. That is What is the Matter With us, Says Col. Waddell. (Extract From Col. Waddell’s Speech at Wilmington).” 11-1-1898, p. 1.)

Nov 1: “A committee of Wilmington citizens, having of their own motion called on Governor Russell to ask him to use his influence to prevent in the interest of peace, the nomination of a Republican legislative and county ticket in New Hanover, the Governor agreed on one condition:
That the present Democratic nominees for the Legislature in New Hanover be taken down and that the business men name two representative businessmen in their stead. As we understand it, these two representative business men may be Democrats. They will at least be men who are in favor of white supremacy. The Democrats, it is believed, will assent to these conditions and there will be no Republican county or legislative ticket in New Hanover.” (The Landmark, Statesville, NC. Editorial. 11-1-1898, p. 2.)

Nov 1: “The crowd here to-day was very large. It was composed of men of influence from all parts of the State. F. M. Simmons stated that the object of the great gathering was to have people from all sections pass resolutions concerning the condition of the east under negro rule. He portrayed the east as it really is and then introduced Major Guthrie as chairman of the convention.

“Major Guthrie made a strong and impressive appeal for Anglo-Saxon rule. He drew a beautiful parallel from the book of Nehemiah, saying, in substance, that the Anglo-Saxon people of North Carolina to-day are like the Jews at the time of the Babylonian captivity. The conditions were brough about by division among themselves, as is the case in this State. But Nehemiah rebuilt the walls around Jerusalem, as the white men in North Carolina will stop negro domination. Maj. Guthrie was at his best and the people heard every word of his speech with intense enthusiasm.

“The sensation of the day was caused by Mr. W. E. Fountain, of Tarboro. He made a strong speech declaring his intention to do all that he could to do elect the Democratic ticket. He said that en endorsed every work that Messrs. Simmons and Guthrie had said. He knows that the affairs in the east cannot continue as they now exist. Fountain, realizing the gravity of the situation in the east, and feeling the force of public opinion, has concluded to cast his lot with the white people and pledges his best efforts to the cause of white supremacy.

“The following gentlemen spoke to-day: Messrs. W. H. Neal, T. J. Jarvis, Ed W. Pou, C. B. Aycock, A. M. Waddell, Donnell Gilliam, Cyrus B. Watson and others. It was a great day.

“The following resolutions were adopted by 5,000 voters to-day:

We, a portion of the citizens of eastern North Carolina, in mass meeting assembled, being mindful of the obligation we are assuming and being desirous of informing our fellow citizens of the condition of affairs in our section of the State, do publish to the world the following plain statements of facts:

First. The population of this section of our State is divided into two distinct races – the Anglo-Saxon and the African.

Second. That in some counties the whites exceed the blacks and in others the blacks largely exceed the whites, but in all of them the negro is found in large numbers.

Third. It is not claimed, even by his white leaders, that the negro is capable of administering a government; on the contrary, the man who is the present Governor of the State has declared in the most emphatic language that he is wholly unfitted for it.

Fourth. That in many of the counties, cities and towns of the east the local governments have been turned over wholly or in part to the negroes. Among these we mention Bertie, Craven, Edgecombe, Halifax, New Hanover, Warren, Greenville, New Berne and Wilmington. In these counties, cities and towns, negroes may be found holding the offices of register of deeds, deputy sheriff, constable, justice of the peace, school committeeman, town commissioner, policeman and the like. In several other counties many of these offices are filled by negroes and many of the post-offices are filled by them.

Fifth. That counting offices of register of deeds, deputy register of deeds, deputy sheriffs, constables, justices of the peace, school committeemen, town commissioners, post-masters, collectors, storekeepers, gaugers and the like, there are now in office in the counties and towns in eastern North Carolina nearly 1,000 negroes, there being nearly 300 negro magistrates alone.

Sixth. That as a consequence of turning these local offices over to the negroes bad government has followed, homes have been invaded and the sanctity of women endangered, business has been paralyzed and property rendered less valuable, the majesty of the law has been disregarded and lawlessness encouraged. In many localities men no longer rely upon the officers of the law for protection, for they are known to be incompetent or corrupt. Conditions have become so intolerable in these communities that they can be no longer tolerated or endured.

Seventh. That this negro domination was made possible and these deplorable conditions were brought about through a division of the white men at the ballot-box. Had the white men remained together as they did for many years these things could not have been.

Eighth. That knowing these evils came about through a division of the white men, the white man’s party has been zealously working for months to reunite the white men at the ballot-box, where these wrongs can be righted and these evils remedied.

In view of these things it is resolved:

First. That the Republican leaders have a second time clearly demonstrated their inability and their unfitness to govern North Carolina.

Second. That the time has come when those who have followed these leaders should no longer do so and that all men who love their State and their homes should unite in one supreme effort to redeem the State and to place honest, capable men in office in State, county, city and town.

Third. That our appeal has been, is now and shall continue to be to the ballot-box and to honest white men. We have contemplated no violence, but we are determined to see all proper means to free ourselves of this negro domination, which is paralyzing our business and which hangs like a dark cloud over our homes.

Fourth. That we declare it is not our purpose to do [two lines bottom of page unclear]…that while we propose to protect and encourage him in all his rights and duties of citizenship, we affirm that North Carolina shall not be negroized. It is of all the States of the Union peculiarly the home of the Anglo Saxon, and the Anglo Saxon shall govern it.

Fifth. That we affirm that no such conditions exist in this State as justify Senator Pritchard in calling upon the President to send troops to this State, or the Governor in issuing his brutal proclamation, and we hereby condemn in the most unmeasured terms the conduct of Senator Pritchard and Governor Russell in attempting to made it appear to the outside world that the descendants of the men of Mecklenburg, Halifax, Albemarle, the Cape Fear, Guilford Court House and King’s Mountain need the military power of the government which they helped to create and organize to compel them to observe the law. The white men of this State, above all others, are interested in maintaining law and order, and for them to be charged by Senator Pritchard and Governor Russell with having a purpose to become insurrectionary citizens is a foul slander, and we denounce them. They have been leaders in establishing negro domination among us and they are therefore responsible for the conditions now existing and in appealing to the President to send troops into this State to aid them in maintaining negro domination, they have shown they care less for the honor and reputation of their State than they do for their official position.

Sixth. That it is in the power of the Legislature to restore to the white men of the east the management and control of their local affairs; that if the Democratic party shall be placed in control of the Legislature this will be done. If the Republican party is placed in control it will not be done. We, therefore, appeal to our white brethren in every section of the State to go to the ballot-box on the day of election and vote for the Democratic candidates for the Legislature.

Seventh. That a learned and pure judiciary is necessary to the preservation of the rights of the weak, as well as of the strong. The Democratic candidates for this high position are men learned in the law and of eminent fitness for this great office. We, therefore, appeal to all men who desire learned and pure men to sit upon the bench to work and to vote for the Democratic candidates.

Eighth. That the president and secretary of this meeting are hereby directed to cause this statement of facts and these resolutions to be published in all the papers of the State, and that the Democratic executive-committee is requested to give them the widest possible circulation among the people.”

(The Landmark, Statesville, N.C. “The Anglo-Saxon at Goldsboro.” 11-1-1898, p. 2.)

Nov 3: “The speech by Col. A. M. Waddell at the opera house in the afternoon was one of the plainest, one of the boldest and most aggressive of all the utterances in this campaign. He spoke as a man that was facing evils too burdensome to be endured. He spoke as one whose mind was made up and fully made up to correct at all hazards these existing evils. He spoke as one who could easily see an impending crisis that called for courage, for valor, for patriotism, for heroism.
He spoke calmly, feelingly, eloquently, but he spoke also with the fervor, with the fire of the aroused orator.

“He pictured the conditions in his own city of Wilmington; told of the incompetency, the intolerance and the arrogance of the negro officials and their black henchmen. He told of insults to tender women, of mean, obscene language used by the vicious in the presence of ladies; of the terror that reigned in the homes of the people. He paid his respects to the unprincipled white leaders who have made a class of the negroes intolerable, and who are responsible for the evils of negro rule. As he spoke there came from his eyes flashes of righteous indignation, and when he declared, with powerful emphasis, that the white men of New Hanover county had made up their minds that they would protect their wives and daughters, their homes and themselves from these
insults at the risk of their lives, his audience cheered to the echo.

“”We are going to protect our firesides and our loved ones, or we are going to die in the attempt.” Thundered the eloquent speaker, “and I don’t say that for the purpose of rounding up an oratorical flight. That determination is in the minds of the white men of Wilmington, and we intend to carry it out.”

“Colonel Waddell had an immense, audience, many of them ladies, and his speech was applauded again and again.” (The Landmark, Statesville, NC. “Col. Waddell’s Speech.” 11-3-1898, p. 5.)

Nov 10: “Wilmington. N. C., Nov. 10. — The negroes not having complied with the demand of the business men by 7:30 this morning (the time fixed) a column of six hundred armed white men assembled at the corner of Market and Fifth streets and at 8:30 o’clock marched to the office of The Daily Record, the negro newspaper and destroyed all material found in the building. The building took fire but some assert that this was accidental. Those in command of the white men say they had no intention of firing the building. As soon as it was discovered that the building was on fire the leaders sent for fire engines and the flames were confined to The Record building. On the south only twenty feet distant is St. Luke’s, one of the largest negro churches in the city and on the north, within twelve feet a frame building, occupied by negroes.

“The Record building is a wreck, being almost totally burned. Excitement is intense as it is feared negroes will attempt to retaliate tonight. The streets are now full of armed whites, and at least one thousand men will be on guard tonight. The column that moved to The Record office was composed of the best citizens of Wilmington and e\’en ministers were either on the march or guarding the city with Winchesters.

“The negro laborers in the Champion compress, more than 500, became terrorized at the wild rumors and rushed into the streets. They were finally somewhat quieted and dispersed in small squads to their homes. At 11:30 a. m., serious trouble occurred in the Fifth ward. Three white men and three negroes have been killed. Large companies of armed citizens have gone to the scene. The negroes are reported to have retreated but are being quietly reinforced by laborers from the compress. Fayetteville has been telegraphed to for help.

“A representative of the Associated Press has seen a statement sworn before a. notary public by a reputable citizen in which it is positively stated that the first shot fired in the trouble in the first ward was fired by a negro. As a result of the fight Wm. Mayo, a well-known and popular young man, is fatally wounded in the side. Another man is wounded in the arm and three negroes are killed and two wounded.
Another Account.

“Washington, D.C., Nov. 10. – A Star special from Wilmington, N. C., says: Events have moved quickly in Wilmington this morning and the white people have made good their threats to take vengeance upon the negro newspaper which published the editorial detrimental to white women. At 7:30 o’clock the negroes not having responded to the demand for the removal of the press of The Record (the negro newspaper) ex-Representative Waddell, the chairman of the white committee of twenty-five, repaired to the light infantry armory where he was to meet the citizens by appointment.

“Eight o’clock was the last hour of grace for the negroes to reply and that hour passed without an answer being received. The citizens then waited half an hour for reinforcements. In the meantime armed men had begun to gather in the wide street in front of the armory. They carried rifles, shot guns and ammunition and the assemblage included some of the most solid citizens of the town.

“At 8:30 o’clock, the procession headed by ex-Representative Waddell, and the committee of twenty-five moved in the direction of Seventh and Nunn streets, where The Record printing shop is located. All along the line of inarch the procession was joined by armed citizens and when the negro quarter was reached the negroes could be seen a few blocks away running into their houses.

“When the crowd arrived in front of The Record office, a two-story frame building, picket lines were thrown out across the streets and squads of men sent to squares in the neighborhood. Leader Waddell with rifle on his shoulder went to the door of the building and knocked, but there being no response the door was soon burst open. The citizens surged into the place and commenced the work of destruction. The furniture was smashed and thrown into the street, the floors were gutted of moveables and the building was fired and destroyed.

“Someone turned in a fire alarm and when the engines responded the crowd discharged their weapons and a fusillade of gun and pistol shots, cheers and shouts filled the air. The affair was soon over, however, and no one was hurt. The publishing house was destroyed but the neighboring property saved. The colored editor, Manley, his brother and their associates have fled, and could not be found. After destroying the printing house, the marchers returned to the armory where they had left a rapid fire machine mounted in a wagon ready to be dispatched to the scene if a battle should occur. The leaders of the crowd said subsequently that it was not the intention to burn The Record building, that it was the work of some rash person orb by accident and did not have the concurrence of the committee of twenty-five.

“Today’s action of the whites was the sequel of yesterday’s meeting at the county court and that of the committee of twenty-five in the afternoon as a result of which the negroes were given until this morning to return an answer to the demand for the removal of the press and the cessation of the publication of The Record.

“Last night was an anxious one for the citizens in the residence section. About eight o’clock a street car came into the business section and reported that the negroes had fired into it and that the passengers had returned the fire. A car loaded with armed men was soon speeding toward the scene of the trouble but the offenders escaped. The entire eastern end of the town was aroused and armed men were on the street cars, on every corner and patrolling the dark streets.

“In the negro district thirty or forty young negroes were assembled but they were not armed and not violent, and the older men said they did not contemplate trouble and sincerely hoped for peace. All night long the whites kept guard about the business and resident sections but no incident occurred to disturb the night.

“At 10:30 o’clock, the scene shifted to another section of the city. Scarcely had the marchers disbanded at the armory before word was passed along that three hundred or four hundred negro laborers of the great cotton compress had knocked off work and were assembling. The armed men hurried to the river front and took positions at the head of the streets leading to the docks. The negroes, gathered in groups of fifteen or twenty, huddled together and were apparently very much excited. They were in a state of panic. Their wives hurried to them with reports that the whites were burning the negro quarters and were shooting the people and begged their husbands
to come home, and the whole force quit work.

“The white leaders endeavored to calm the excited men, told them no harm was intended and advised them to return to work. There was no violent talk nor threats by the negroes. In all the disturbances, the local authorities made no show of asserting themselves and not a policeman is around. The preservation of order is practically vested in the committee of twenty-five, who are now trying to restore order, quiet the situation, and hold in check the reckless element among the whites. The rapid fire machine gun on a wagon, manned by a crew armed with Winchesters was brought down in front of the post office but on the advice of the leaders was halted there.

“Soon after eleven o’clock, word was brought that reinforcements were needed in the negro section of Brooklyn. The men were sent. Twenty minutes later news came that there had been a collision between the whites and blacks and that blood had been shed. As a result of the trouble at Brooklyn it is believed that the number of negroes who have been killed will number four. A white man named Mayo, who was shot in the stomach has since died.

“Special trains are being run into Wilmington from other towns with reinforcements of arms. Goldsboro has started 500 men. Laurinburg has started 150 and other places have offered help if needed. The light infantry, a regular state militia organization will probably take command of the situation here and its officers direct the patrolling and guarding of the city.

“Between one and two o’clock there were several skirmishes. The total casualties at two p. m., were: Eight negroes killed, two wounded and three white men wounded –Mayo, Chadwick and Piner. Mayo is not dead as before reported, but is shot through the lungs. About 1.30 o’clock, two white men passing a house were fired upon. A detachment immediately surrounded the house and took away five negroes. It was at first proposed to kill them but it was finally decided to put them in jail. Another negro in the house broke and ran but after proceeding half a square was shot dead. The negro who shot Mayo was recognized, it is claimed, and a detachment found him at his house. He was riddled with bullets and left dead.

“The reinforcements from Goldsboro have been turned back and a committee of twenty-five is considering means of preserving order. The plan in favor is to appoint a sub-committee of six or ten men to have supreme charge of the city, superseding the mayor and other authorities.

“The situation is quiet at the scene of the trouble now. The negroes have gone into their houses. Squads of men are now halting all the negroes on the street and taking their pistols from them wherever found.” (Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI. “Resort to Violence. Angry Whites at Wilmington, N.C., Carry Out Threats. Several People Killed.” 11-10-1898, p. 1.)

Nov 11: “Wilmington, N. C , Nov. 11 — After a day of bloodshed and turbulence Wilmington subsided last night into comparative peacefulness. Nine negroes were killed and three white men wounded during the day, one of them, William Mayo, seriously.

“Today the city is in the hands of a new municipal government, and law and order is being established. Yesterday afternoon the board of aldermen resigned one by one as each alderman vacated the remainder elected a successor, named by the citizens’ committee, until the entire board was changed legally. They resigned in response to public sentiment. The new board is composed of conservative Democratic citizens.

“The mayor and chief of police then resigned, and the new board elected their successors, according to law. Ex-Representative Waddell was elected mayor and E. G Parmelee chief of police. The first act of the new government was to swear in 250 special policemen, chosen from the ranks of reputable citizens. The citizens will remain on guard, however, throughout the town to prevent possible attempts at incendiarism. The new government will devote its attention to restraining recklessness among the whites as well as keeping down lawlessness among the negroes. Further trouble of a general or serious nature is not expected.

“The trouble in Wilmington commenced at 8:30 yesterday morning, when an armed body of citizens, numbering 400, and led by ex-Representative Waddell, chairman of a committee of 25 appointed for the purpose, proceeded to the publishing house of a negro newspaper, The Record, to wreck it. The editor of this paper had published an article defamatory of white women, and a mass meeting of citizens on Wednesday ordered his expulsion from the city within 24 hours and the removal of his press. Fifteen leading negroes were called in by the committee of 25 Wednesday night and directed to notify the chairman by 7:30 yesterday morning whether they would agree to the removal of the press. They were informed that if no answer were returned the press would be demolished….” (The News, Frederick, MD. “Killed in Race Riots. Nine Negroes Shot Down in the Streets of Wilmington, N.C. A New Municipal Government.” 11-11-1898, 1.)

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Additional References

Gerard, Philip. Cape Fear Rising. Blair, 2019.

Higuchi, Hayumi. “White Supremacy of the Cape Fear: The Wilmington Affair of 1898” (M.A. thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1980.

Prather, H. Leon Sr. We Have Taken a City: Wilmington Racial Massacre and Coup of 1898. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984, and Dram Tree Books, 2006.

Steelman, Bennett L. “Black, White, and Gray: The Wilmington Race Riot in Fact and Legend,” North Carolina Historical Review, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 1994, pp. 70-81.

Umfleet, LeRae Sikes. A Day of Blood: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.