September 22, 2011
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/22/2011
Two Newspapers, Harper's Weekly, New York, each 16pp., complete issues, disbound, October 3, 1874 and October 10, 1874, VG. From the October 3, 1874, front cover, "The First Gun - 1861 - 1874," shows former confederate soldier raising the flag as Grant charges in, engraving of Miss Julia Hayden, the murdered school teacher, and several engravings "The Louisiana Outrages." And from the October 10, 1874, front cover shows the White Leaguers and other personalities involved. Even though his administration was faced with widespread violence directed against freed blacks and Republican officials in the South during Reconstruction, President Ulysses S. Grant did little to curb white militancy. He preferred to let matters take their course in the Southern states rather than to risk involving the federal government in a race war. A vigilante group organized in Louisiana in the spring and summer of 1874 counted 14,000 members, mostly Confederate veterans, by fall. Calling themselves the White League, they were dedicated to a "White Man's Government" and the suppression of the insolent and barbarous African. Emboldened by the federal hands-off policies, 3,500 armed White Leaguers assembled in New Orleans on September 14, 1874, and demanded that carpetbag Republican Gov. William Kellogg resign. Opposing the White League were 3,600 policemen and Black Militia troops under the command of ex-Confederate General James Longstreet. Supported by two Gatling guns and a battery of artillery, Longstreet's force formed a battle line from Jackson Square to Canal Street, guarding the Customs House, in which the governor and other Republican officials had taken refuge. The White Leaguers charged the line, captured Longstreet, and pushed his men to the river, where they either surrendered or fled. The attackers occupied the city hall, statehouse, and arsenal. Total casualties in the one-hour fight that has become known as the Battle of Liberty Place were 38 killed and 79 wounded.
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