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SHELBY, Tennessee in the 1860s: 1 through 10 of 10

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  1. African-American Population growth
    date April 30, 1860map SHELBY, Tennesseetags African-Americans, Migration/Transportation

    In 1850, Shelby County ranked seventh in free colored population. In the ten years that followed, it grew considerably to be ranked fifth in free population and first in total population in Tennessee. The free population grew considerably because of many reasons, specifically natural birth from free African American mothers, more frequent self-purchase, and increased immigration free African-Americans...

  2. Adolph Engelmann's report of the Battle of Shiloh
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map SHELBY, Tennesseetags The Battle of Shiloh, Medicine

    In Adolph Engelmann's report on the battle of Shiloh, he discusses the different obstacles and hardships that the forty third regiment had to endure during this "bloody battle". Within his regiment, a report stated that seventy five enlisted were either killed or mortally wounded while one hundred and sixty one of the soldiers died either of disease or accident. Although significant, these statistics...

  3. J.J Anderson's report on the battle of Shiloh
    date April 6, 1862 to April 7, 1862map SHELBY, Tennesseetags battle of shiloh, loyalty

      Texts about the Civil War will often discuss in great lengths about the heroic deeds and bravery of the soldiers who fought. These men were often revered for their dedication to the army and to their country. Jabez J Anderson was a thirty eight year old farmer from Middleton, Illinois, who had to take control of his regiment during the first day of battle when two of his superiors were severely...

  4. African-Americans Try to Improve the Status of Their Race
    date January 1, 1864map SHELBY, Tennesseetags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Race-Relations, Urban-Life/Boosterism, War

    Beginning in 1863, black communities began to hold large meetings to discuss the articulation and communication of new attitudes towards African-Americans. One such meeting was held in a black Baptist church in Memphis to commemorate the first anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. This meeting was one of the first of black convocations that called for social reforms among the black community...

  5. Memphis Race Riot of 1866
    date May 1, 1866 to May 2, 1866map SHELBY, Tennesseetags Crime/Violence, Race-Relations, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    On May 1-2, 1866, Memphis experienced the worst race riot in the city's history, with forty-six African-Americans and two whites dead, five African American women raped and hundreds of African American homes and churches burned to the ground. At the end of the war, four regiments of black Union soldiers were stationed just outside of Memphis at Fort Pickering. To the chagrin of the Irish in Memphis,...

  6. Blacks Massacred In Memphis Riots
    date May 1, 1866 to May 3, 1866map SHELBY, Tennesseetags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Race-Relations, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    Deep-seated racial tensions exploded in Memphis on May 1, 1866. For three days, violence ruled the city as roaming mobs murdered, robbed, and burned throughout the Black Quarter. By the time Federal troops imposed martial law on May 3, ending the riots, Memphis' terrorized black community was in shambles. Roughly fifty blacks were murdered outright and scores more were wounded. Burned to the ground...

  7. Sexual Violence and the Memphis Riot
    date May 1, 1866 to May 3, 1866map SHELBY, Tennesseetags Women, Memphis Riot, Sexual Violence

    From May 1, 1866 to May 3, 1866 violence reigned on the streets of Memphis, Tennessee. At the end of what is today known as the Memphis Riot, forty six African Americans and two White men lay dead. All four of the African American schools were burned as well as over one hundred private residences. Moreover, at least five women testified to having been raped. These women possessed the fortitude and...

  8. Re-establishing White Power in Memphis Tennessee
    date May 1, 1866 to May 5, 1866map SHELBY, Tennesseetags African American, Race riot,, Crime, Black soldiers

    Black subordination was the motive that drove white Southerners to start the infamous Memphis Race Riot of 1866.  May 1, 1866, whites of Memphis, Tennessee, set out to destroy black power and to “…achieve this goal in Memphis only by destroying the most potent symbols of black power in the cities- the soldiers themselves.” After three long and excruciating days of violent hazing and rioting,...

  9. Passage of the Franchise Act in Tennessee
    date May 3, 1866map SHELBY, Tennesseetags African-Americans, Race-Relations

    Brownlow, believed that rapid emancipation of the slaves in Tennessee was a necessary step to the reconstruction of his state. On February 22nd 1865, the voters chose to abolish slavery and less than two weeks later, Brownlow was elected governor of the state of Tennessee. When speaking to the new assembly for the first time, Brownlow reminded them of the sacrifices of their fellow statesmen who had...

  10. Hesper Affair
    date October 8, 1868 to October 15, 1868map SHELBY, Tennesseetags Crime/Violence, Migration/Transportation

    With the increase in racial violence in Arkansas, Governor Powell Clayton sought to create a secret militia aimed at preventing white supremacy movements in the form of organizations like the Ku Klux Klan. The majority of white citizens in Arkansas despised the Governor's enforcement officials. To outfit his militia Clayton ordered 4,000 muskets which were shipped to Memphis, Tennessee. However,...