Chisolm Massacre

The Chisolm Massacre occurred on April 29, 1877 in Kemper County, Mississippi, less than a month after the Reconstruction era was brought to a close.[1] A judge and former sheriff named William Chisolm was accused of killing sheriff John Gully, a member of the Democratic Party, and was being held in the local jail. Also held there in protective custody were Chisolm's son, daughter, and two of his friends. A mob of around 300 Ku Klux Klan members stormed the jail and killed Chisolm, his family, and one of his friends. No one was convicted for the attack.[2]

According to the Yorkville Enquirer, Chisolm was a Republican Party candidate for a seat in the U.S. Congress.[3]

Southern papers applauded the lynching.[1] The Yorkville Enquirer concluded its report on the "Tragedy in Mississippi" noting that: "Other hangings will probably follow."[3] Governor John Marshall Stone refused to launch an investigation and U.S. President Rutherford Hayes did not comment on the killings.[1] It was one of several reprisal actions in Mississippi during the period after Reconstruction. A freedman later confessed to killing Gully and was hanged.[1]

The New York Times wrote about it.[4] James Monroe Wells, a deputy revenue collector and U.S. Army veteran, wrote the book The Chisolm Massacre: A Picture of "Home Rule" in Mississippi about it.[5][6] His criticisms of locals were responded to by James Daniel Lynch's account blaming Radical Republicans, Kemper County Vindicated, And a Peep at Radical Rule in Mississippi.[5]