New Orleans Massacre

People

Mayor John T. Monroe (Confederate sympathizer); Sheriff Harry T. Hays (former Confederate genera)

Outcome

unknown

On July 30, 1866, a white mob composed of former Confederate soldiers, police officers, and firemen attacked a peaceful gathering of Black freedmen and white Radical Republican delegates at the Mechanics' Institute in New Orleans, where the Louisiana Constitutional Convention had reconvened to extend voting rights to African Americans. The massacre resulted in the deaths of approximately 34-48 Black supporters and 3 white delegates, with over 100 wounded. General Philip Sheridan characterized the violence as "an absolute massacre by the police... without the shadow of a necessity." The atrocity, paired with the Memphis Massacre earlier that year, galvanized support for Radical Reconstruction and contributed to the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. The 1864 Louisiana Constitutional Convention had abolished slavery but failed to grant Black men the right to vote. By 1866, the Louisiana legislature had enacted Black Codes restricting the rights of freedpeople. Radical Republicans sought to reconvene the convention to extend suffrage to freedmen, eliminate Black Codes, and disenfranchise former Confederates. On July 27, 1866, a political rally at the Mechanics' Institute drew crowds of Black residents who were stirred by speeches from abolitionist activists, including Dr. Anthony Paul Dostie and former Governor Michael Hahn. The speeches alarmed the city's Confederate sympathizers. Mayor John T. Monroe, a former Confederate supporter who had taken office after Union martial law ended on May 12, 1866, declared the convention "unlawful." Sheriff Harry T. Hays, a former Confederate general, deputized a posse of white ex-Confederate officers to disrupt the proceedings. On July 30, twenty-five to twenty-seven delegates convened at the Mechanics' Institute at noon, presided over by Louisiana Supreme Court Judge Rufus K. Howell. Approximately 130-200 unarmed Black freedmen, many of them Union war veterans, marched toward the Institute in parade formation to show their support. As they approached, white bystanders harassed and attacked them. Police and auxiliary officers arrived and joined the mob's assault. Officers shot through the building's windows, then forced entry, continuing to attack the mostly unarmed attendees inside. According to the New Orleans Tribune, "black men were assassinated by scores. They fell inside of the hall, outside of the building, in the neighboring streets, and even in distant parts of the city, where they were tracked like dogs." The violence continued throughout the afternoon until federal troops arrived at approximately 6:00 p.m. and declared martial law. Among the notable victims was Dr. Anthony Paul Dostie, a white dentist and leading convention delegate who had tried to calm the trapped delegates. A bullet pierced his arm, and two policemen dragged him to the city's main thoroughfare, where the mob took turns striking, clubbing, and shooting him. As Dostie lay dying, police flung his body into a cart and paraded him before cheering crowds; he died on August 5. Reverend Jotham W. Horton, the convention chaplain from Boston, was shot while attempting to surrender with a white handkerchief. Other notable victims included Victor Lacroix and John Henderson Jr., son of former U.S. Senator John Henderson of Mississippi. General Philip Sheridan, reporting to the War Department, compared the brutality to the Fort Pillow Massacre. Despite the severity of the violence, there were no convictions; nobody went to jail. However, martial law was reinstated and Mayor Monroe and other city officials were removed from office. The national outrage over the New Orleans and Memphis massacres contributed to Radical Republican victories in the 1866 congressional elections, where Republicans gained 77% of seats, ultimately leading to the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.