Name/Title
"Hampton and His Red Shirts"Entry/Object ID
2013.7.14Description
Red-covered book with gray printed dust jacket. The cover of the book features a man in a hat and red shirt on a black horse standing near a river bank. The cover also lists the title of the book, "Hampton and Hist Red Shirts," and the book's author and publisher information. The spine of the dust cover has this same information and a similar image. The back side of the dust jacket contains information on other books of similar context being sold by the publisher at the time.Context
During the Reconstruction Era, many white supremacy groups used fear tactics to intimidate African Americans and their white supporters. The Ku Klux Klan was one such organization with an anti-Republican political and social agenda. They arrived in South Carolina in 1868, the same year the state’s new constitution allowed for greater equality and representation in government; their actions led to the Ku Klux Klan trials of 1871–1872. In the mid-1870s, South Carolina saw the rise of the Red Shirts, led by members of the Democratic Party and Confederate veterans that used intimidation and violence to achieve political goals. During Wade Hampton III's (1818–1902) campaign for governor of South Carolina, Red Shirts—mounted upon horses as depicted on the cover of this book—accompanied Hampton as he traveled the state.
The book's author, Alfred B. Williams (1856–1930), was a reporter for the Charleston Journal of Commerce who was assigned to report on Hampton's campaign. Fifty years later, he wrote a series of articles in "The State" and "Charleston Evening Post" newspapers recalling the events surrounding Hampton's campaign and election.
These articles for the basis of this book by Williams, which was published posthumously.Book Details
Author
Alfred B. WilliamsPublisher
Walker, Evans, & Cogswell Co.Place Published
City
Charleston, South CarolinaDate Published
1935
