Georgia Historical Society
The Darien "Insurrection" of 1899: Black Protest During the Nadir of Race Relations
Author(s): W. Fitzhugh Brundage
Source: The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol. 74, No. 2 (Summer 1990), pp. 234-253
Published by: Georgia Historical Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40582867
Accessed: 17-05-2015 21:01 UTC
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of 1899:
The Darien"Insurrection"
BlackProtest
DuringtheNadirofRaceRelations
By W. Fitzhugh Brundage
us in the
Whenthemurderer
comes,he shallno longerstrike
we
too
must
back.Whenthearmedlynchers
gather
gather,
wemustproposetomeetitwith
armed.Whenthemobmoves,
bricks
andclubsandguns.. . .
- W.E.B.DuBois,1919
and sapped of patiencebythemurderousvioEmbittered
lenceof whitesagainstblacksduringthesummerof 1919,
to take up "the
W.E.B. DuBois called forAfrican-Americans
WhatDuBois imploredwith
terribleweaponof Self-Defense."1
characteristic
passion was not new; for decades prominent
black leaders had beseechedblacksto answerwhiteviolence
blowforblow.2Because thetollof mobexecutionswasso great
in theSouth,and blackswereso vulnerableto lynchmobs,itis
toassumethatthenotionofblackself-defense
against
tempting
blackssecurein therelamobsonlycirculatedamongmilitant
tivesafetyof the Northwhilesouthernblacksrespondedto
withapathyand resignation.
lynchings
In 1899, in an eventthatbecame knownas the "Darien
blacksin MclntoshCounty,Georgia,dramaticInsurrection,"
thattheywouldboldlychallengewhitesand
demonstrated
ally
protecta fellowblackfromany lynchmob. That thisdefiant
standby blackshas attractedno recentscholarlyinterestmay
be explainedby the tendencyof historiansto focuseitheron
ofnational
or on thehistory
case studiesofindividuallynchings
W.E.B. DuBois, "Opinion," Crisis 18 (September 1919): 231. The author would
like to thank William F. Holmes, George A. Rawlyk,and Mart Stewartfor theircommentsand suggestionson this article.
ideas and proposals DyDiacKleaaers
2Late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century
for responses to white violence are discussed in Herbert Shapiro, WhiteViolenceand
toMontgomery
Black Response:FromReconstruction
(Amherst,Mass., 1988), 30-119.
Mr. Brundage
Canada.
is assistantprofessorof historyat Queen's University,Kingston,
The Georgia Historical
Quarterly
Vol. LXXIV, No. 2, Summer 1990
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The Darien "Insurrection"
235
knownabout
antilynching
organizations.
Verylittleis currently
the actual response of southern black communitiesto
threatenedor accomplishedlynchings.And until more is
of thegruesomepracticeof lynchknown,our understanding
in
the
late
nineteenthand twentieth-century
South will
ing
remainincomplete.
Preventedlynchingsno less than accomplishedlynchings
maybe powerfullensesthroughwhichtheoriginsand unfoldand vivid.Whatsouthingof mobviolencebecomeintelligible
ern blacksdid whenconfronted
by whitesintenton mob violenceis noteasyto ascertain.Much can onlybe inferredfrom
vague episodes.Most of whatis knownmustcome fromthe
recordsand newspapersof whites,all of whichweresuffused
withtheslogansand imagesof whiteracism.But unlikemany
instancesof threatenedor actual mob violencein whichthe
Americansare distortedor incomplete,the
imagesof Africanin
events MclntoshCountyin 1899 reveala portraitof a black
thatroseup againstratherthansubmittothethreat
community
of whiteviolence.
A carefulexaminationof lynchingin the South uncovers
black responsesto lynchings
thatwere bothcomplexand ditovigorous,evenviolent
verse,rangingfromsullenresentment
as
in
occurred
Mclntosh
opposition,
County.Certainpatterns
of black responseare discernable;the greaterthe degree of
black economic autonomy and political mobilization,the
blackprotestagainstwhite
greaterthelikelihoodof forthright
violence.A failureto recognizethecomplexity
and diversity
of
black responsesto threatenedor actual aggressionnot only
leads to an incompleteunderstanding
of lynching,
but also ignoresthecreativity
of southernblacksin thefaceof whiteviolence.
The atmosphereof race relationsin Georgiaduring1899
can hardlybe describedas auspiciousforany gestureof defianceby blacks.Georgia,a statealreadyshamedby a record
of 138 lynchingsbetween1880 and 1898, was convulsedby
racial violenceduringthe springand summerof 1899. The
frenziedtwo-week
longsearchforSam Holt,a blackmanwho
committed
had
rape and murder,setthetoneforthe
allegedly
rest of the year. Newspaperscarried daily accountsof the
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236
Georgia Historical
Quarterly
and of numerous
search,of alleged sightingsof the fugitive,
in all corners
Holt
crimes
committed
supposedly
by
shocking
ofthestate.Whena hugemobtortured,
and burned
mutilated,
Holt to death in CowetaCounty,bannerheadlinesand gruesomeillustrations
blazonedthe newsthroughout
the state.3
BetweenMay and November,mobs in Georgia executed
withblood-curdling
nineteenblacks,frequently
savagery.On
at leasttenotheroccasionsmobsattemptedto lynchblacksbut
werepreventedbyeithertheinterference
ofstatemilitiaor the
successfulremovalof theallegedcriminalto a securejail. Also
terrorist
and other
groupsof whites,knownas whitecappers,
whitesintenton punishinga varietyof allegedminoroffenses
whippedblacks throughoutthe state.For manywhites,the
bloodshedconfirmed
theirfearsthata steadydeterioration
in
thestate'sracerelationshad reacheda crisis,and mostbelieved
thatblackbehaviorlayat theheartof thecrisis.For blacks,the
and outbutcheryprovokedunderstandablefear,frustration
In
of
the
pervasiveviolenceagainstblacksand the
rage. light
unusuallevelofsuspicionand fearpresenton bothsidesofthe
caste line, the eventsthattook place in MclntoshCountyin
August1899 takeon added significance.4
Located on the Georgia coast roughlymidwaybetween
Savannahand Brunswick,
borderedto thesouthbythetorpid
AltamahaRiver,and piercedby countlesstidalestuariesand
salt marshes,MclntoshCountybore the marksof over two
centuriesof whiteand blacksettlement.
Beforethe CivilWar
whiteplanters,witharmiesofblackslaves,had carvedoutvast,
lucrativerice and cottonplantationsin the county.Afterthe
war the combinedeffectsof the abolitionof slaveryand stiff
fromotherregionsin the Southdrove
economiccompetition
intodecline.Increasingly,
the
manyof thecounty'splantations
3The Holt lynchingcan be traced in the AtlantaConstitution,
April 13-26, 1899;
AtlantaJournal,April 13-25, 1899; Macon Telegraph,April 13-26, 1899; New YorkAge,
Planet,October 14, 1899; and Mary Church Terrell, "LynchJune 22, 1899; Richmond
ing From A Negro's Point of View," NorthAmericanReview 178 (June 1904): 859-60.
For a briefsecondaryaccount of the lynchingsee Joel Williamson,The CrucibleofRace:
SouthSinceEmancipation
Black-White
Relationsin theAmerican
(New York, 1984), 205-206.
4The agitated state of race relationsduring 1899 is vividlyconveyed in newspaper
editorials. For examples, see ColumbusEnquirer-Sun,April 25, 1899; ValdostaTimes,
June 8, 1899; BlahelyEarly CountyNews,July 27,
April 29, 1899; AtlantaConstitution,
1899; BainbridgeDemocrat,August 3, 1899.
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The Darien "Insurrection"
237
The lumber industryplayed a significantrole in the economics of Mclntosh County
and allowed blacks a greater degree of economic autonomy than was true elsewhere.
of HargrettRare Book and ManuscriptLibrary,University
of Georgia
Photographcourtesy
Libraries.
lumberand navalstoresindustriesdominatedtheeconomyof
the countyin general,and of Darien,the countyseat,in particular.Howevermuch the foundationof the economymay
have changed,the complexionof the county'spopulationremained predominantly
Americanscomprised
black; Africanover80 percentof the population.5
The originsof thetroublesin MclntoshCountyin August
1899 are murky.In July,MatildaAnn Hope, a youngwhite
marriedwomanwho livedseveralmilesnorthof Darien,gave
birthtoa blackchild.Soon thereafter,
shemadeoutan affidavit
claimingthatHenryDelegale,a blackneighbor,had raped her
sometimeduringthe previouswinter.When the black man
learnedof thecharges,he promptly
surrenderedto thecounty
5The literatureon coastal Georgia is extensive. Among the importantworks are:
Thomas F. Armstrong,"From Task Labor to Free Labor: The Transition Along Georgia's Rice Coast, 1820-1880," Georgia HistoricalQuarterly64 (Winter 1980):432-47;
James M. Clifton,"TwilightComes to the Rice Kingdom: PostbellumRice Culture on
the South AtlanticCoast," GeorgiaHistoricalQuarterly
62 (Summer 1978): 146-54; Philip
D. Morgan, "Work and Culture: The Task System and the World of Low Country
39 (October 1982): 564-83; George
Blacks, 1700 to 1880," Williamand Mary Quarterly
A. Rogers and R. Frank Saunders, Jr.,SwampWaterand WireGrass:HistoricalSketches
ofCoastalGeorgia(Macon, Ga., 1984).
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238
Georgia Historical
Quarterly
sheriff
on Monday,August2 1. Delegate'scautionwas welladvisedgiventhe usual responseof whitesto allegedassaultsby
blacks.Evenso,theallegedrapevictimwasnota personof"the
most
bestcharacter"
and, ifwhitenewspapersare tobe trusted,
whitesthoughtthe chargesweretrumpedup solelyto protect
her reputation.6
until
littleattention
of Delegaleattracted
The incarceration
the followingday, August22, when the sheriffof Mclntosh
County,Thomas B. Blount,decidedto movetheblackman to
Savannahforsafekeeping.The sheriff'smotivesare unclear:
he mayhave believedthatan attemptto lynchDelegale would
occur and thatSavannahoffereda safe refugeforthe black
man,or he mayhave intendedto use thepretextof transporting his prisonerto turnDelegaleoverto a waitingmob.Whatblacksin Darien had littledoubt
ever the sheriffsintentions,
about the probableconsequencesof his actions."To the average negro of MclntoshCounty,"the SavannahMorningNews
observed,"'safekeeping'meant death to the accused on a
swinginglimbsomewherebetweenDarien and Savannah."7
A group of blacksin Darien quicklyorganizedthemselves
and laid plansto protectDelegale. If thedetailsof theorganizationof the blacksare lacking,evidenceof its existencecertainlyis not.Because Delegale was a man of some prominence
locallyhis sons wereable to arouse the interestof largenumbersofblacks.8Blacksentinelstookup positionsaroundthejail
to ensure that neitherthe sheriffnor a mob could remove
arose,these
Delegale withoutopposition.Whenan emergency
sentrieswereto alerttheblackcommunity
by ringingthebell
defenseof Henry
That
the
church.
black
of a nearby
Baptist
Delegale wouldassumethe proportionsof a collectiveprotest
bondsand
is indicativeofboththerichheritageof community
thedegreeof economicindependenceattainedbymanyblacks
^SavannahPress,August 24, 1899; Darien Gazette,August 26, 1899. News accounts
fail to clarifyif Delegale was the fatheror simply a convenient scapegoat for some
other black man.
1Savannah
MorningNews,August 24, 1899. The suspicions of blacks in Mclntosh
County are supported by the statisticsof lynchingin Georgia between 1880 and 1930;
118 of the 453 lynchingvictimsduring thisperiod were lynchedwhile in transittojail.
See William Fitzhugh Brundage, "Lynchingin the New South: Georgia and Virginia,
1880-1930" (Ph.D. dissertation,Harvard University,1988), 123-36.
8For a sensational descriptionof Henry Delegale's "hold" on his black neighbors,
see the AtlantaConstitution,
September 2, 1899.
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239
The Darien "Insurrection"
in MclntoshCounty.The sheriff'sattemptto move Delegale
galvanizedblacksthroughoutthe county.Among the blacks
who gatheredto protectthe jail were rural farmersfrom
nearby Sapelo Island, day laborers,sawmillworkers,and
domesticservants.Quite literally,
the crowdappears to have
includedblackmenand womenfromthroughout
thecounty.9
The participation
of ruralblacksin theprotest,to a considerable extent,was the legacyof the peculiarformof slavery
thatflourished
alongthecoastof SouthCarolinaand Georgia.
The vast slave forcesthattended the immenserice and sea
islandcottonplantations
oftheregionhad knowna morestable
a
more
intense
socialand culturalsolidarity,
and a
familylife,
greaterdegreeof independencethantypicalof mostslaves.10
Withthedemiseof large-scaleplantationagriculture
following
theCivilWar,manyblacksacquiredsmallholdingsofland and
becameself-sufficient
farmers,
raisingsmallcropsoffoodstuffs
"The
whilesupplementing
theirdietbyhuntingand fishing.11
to determinewith
9Thebackgrounds
of membersof thecrowdare verydifficult
Tax recordsfortheyearspriorto 1899 are not extant,but the 1900
anycertainty.
1896-1897SuperiorCourtVotersList,and MclntoshCounty
Census Manuscripts,
of Archives& History,
Deeds,availableat theGeorgiaDepartment
provideinformationon twelveof theallegedrioters.
of slaveryin coastal
10Several
recentstudieshavebegunto exposethecomplexities
"Land
helpfulare Morgan,"Workand Culture,"and MartStewart,
Georgia.Especially
and SocialChangein CoastalGeorgia,1680-1880,"
Use and Landscapes:Environment
about
conclusions
1988).JohnScottStrickland's
(Ph.D. dissertation,
EmoryUniversity,
"TratocoastalGeorgia;see Strickland,
are pertinent
theSouthCarolinaLowCountry
ditionalCultureand Moral Economy:Social and EconomicChange in the South
in theAgeofCapitalistTransformaCarolina Low Country,1865-1910," in The Countryside
tion,StevenHahn and JonathanPrude,eds. (Chapel Hill, 1985),141-78.Helpfulfor
"The Buildingofa BlackChurch:Comthepostwaryearsare ThomasF. Armstrong,
66 (Fall
Historical
in PostCivilWarLiberty
Quarterly
County,Georgia,"Georgia
munity
"FromTask Labor to Free Labor."
1982):346-67;and Armstrong,
11
can
ofthevaluethatblacksplaceduponseli-sumciency
A verycogentdescription
be foundin W.E.B. DuBois, TheNegroLandholder
ofGeorgia,U. S. Departmentof
Labor,BulletinNo. 35 (Washington,
1901),739-40.The extentof blacklandholding
demonstrated
is effectively
bytheFederalCensusof 1900:
in Coastal Georgia1900
Black FarmLandownership
Bryan
Camden
Chatham
Glynn
Liberty
Mclntosh
NumberOf Black
FarmOwners
144
403
171
97
793
243
TotalNumber PercentofTotal
BlackFarmers BlackFarmers
53.9
267
70.6
571
40.1
426
119
81.5
69.7
1138
77.6
313
1851
2834
Total
1900: 68-71.)
(Source:FederalCensus,Agriculture,
65.3
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240
Georgia Historical
Quarterly
Negroesthere,"a Georgiaplanterobserved,"willnotworkfor
and oyswages,as theycan livewithoutworkon fish,crawfish
means
for
of
cotton
them
the
ters; a littlepatch
furnishing
as one whitenewspaper
tobaccoand clothing."12
Consequently,
noted (withsome exaggeration),coastal blacks had become
independentof thewhiteman."13
"perfectly
Justas the comparativeeconomicindependenceof rural
blacksprovideda foundationforcollectiveprotest,so too did
theeconomicstandingof blackresidentsof Darien.The town,
withitsblackpopulationof roughly1,000out of a totalpopulationof 1,700,sustainedmanyblackmerchants
and craftsmen.
of
numbers
blacks
also
found
in thetown's
Large
employment
lumber
and
industries.
flourishing
turpentine
Notably,black
property
holding,bothof homesand stores,was extensiveand
commonplacein Darien.14
In additionto themeasureofeconomicautonomy
thatcoastal blacksattainedfollowingthe Civil War, politicalactivism
bolsteredthecohesionof theblackcommunity.
Withtherevolutionin thestatusof blacksbroughtaboutbyReconstruction,
shrewdand able black leaders mobilizedlocal blacks.Tunis
Campbell, a black carpetbaggerand former abolitionist,
createda politicalmachinein MclntoshCountythatcontrolled
localpoliticsforyears.Blackpoliticians
reliedon thelargeblack
in
to
untilthe earlytwenthe
retain
office
majorities
regions
well
after
their
tiethcentury,
elsewherein the
counterparts
Southhad been drivenfromoffice.15
^Savannah MorningNews. August 27, 1899.
13Thenewspaper wenton to explain the significanceof the economic independence
of local blacks. "Some of the best farmsare owned by the negroes themselves.It is
known among the negroes that should a prolonged difficultywith the whitesoccur,
the black men would have sufficientfood to sustain them supplied from the farms
eitherby [black] owners or tenants. . . ," ibid.
14W.E.B.Dubois provides data on the extent ol town propertyholding by blacks
in 1899 in The NegroLandholderof Georgia,678-79, 680, 739-40. For a contemporary
newspaper portraitof one prosperous black family,the Henry Todd familyof Darien,
see AtlantaJournal,May 15, 1890.
15The political historyof postbellum coastal Georgia is traced m Russell Duncan,
Freedom'sShore:Tunis Campbelland theGeorgiaFreedmen(Athens, Ga., 1987). Duncan's
treatmentcountersthe stridentlyhostileportraitby E. MertonCoulter,NegroLegislators
Period (Athens, 1968). For another account, see
in GeorgiaDuring theReconstruction
Albert E. Smith,"Down Freedom's Road: The Contours of Race, Class, and Property
Crime in Black-Belt Georgia, 1866-1910" (Ph.D. dissertation,Universityof Georgia,
1982), 117-64.
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The Darien "Insurrection"
241
TunisG. Campbell,a blackcarpetbagger,
lefta legacyof politicalactivismand organizationamong blacks in Mclntosh
Countywhichhelped providea foundationforprotesting
HenryDelegale'sarPortrait
restand imprisonment.
courtesy
of
HargrettRare Book and ManuscriptLibrary,
University
of GeorgiaLibraries.
of MclntoshCounty'slargeblackpopulaThe combination
tion,muchof whichenjoyedconsiderableeconomicindependties
ence,articulateleadership,and deeplyrootedcommunity
createdan atmosphereconduciveto a collectivechallengeto
mob violence.The crowdof blacksthatquicklygatheredto
protectHenryDelegale aftertheringingof theBaptistchurch
bell in Darien on August22 was the predictableand understandableexpressionof the heritageand attitudesof blacksin
MclntoshCounty.
On severaloccasionson theday following
thearrestof Delthe
sheriff
had
made
to
move
the
egale,
attempts
prisonerfrom
thejail, but on each occasionthe watchmenrangthe bell and
hastilygatheredcrowdsof blacksrefusedto allowthetransfer
of theprisoner.On theseconddayof thestand-off,
thesheriff
made a finalattemptto removeDelegale, but again he was
discoveredwhilein theact. In a shorttimeperhapsas manyas
one hundredblacks,many armed, surroundedthe jail. Althoughtheassembledblacksexplainedthattheirsole intention
was to protectDelegale, local authoritiesconcludedthatthe
situationhad gottenout of hand and forcemightbe necessary
to restoreorder.Because thelocal militiacompany,theDarien
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Georgia Historical
242
Quarterly
wiredGovernor
defunct,theauthorities
Dragons,wasvirtually
AllenD. Candlerand urgently
requestedtroops.16
Upon receivingthe requestfortroops,GovernorCandler
promptlyordered two hundredmen and six officersof the
FirstInfantry
Regimentof the statemilitia,comprisedof several militiacompaniesin Savannah,to reportto the Mclntosh
Withintwohours,twohundredmilitiatroops
Countysheriff.
fromthe RepublicanBlues,IrishJasperGreens,GermanVolunteers,OglethorpeLight Infantry,Georgia Hussars, and
SavannahCadetsleftSavannahon a specialtrainprovidedby
the FloridaCentraland Peninsula.Urgedon bywarningsof a
"race war"in Mclntosh,the trainengineersdrovethe engine
at a furiouspace, exceedinga milea minuteformuchof the
trip,and deliveredthetroopsto Darien shortlyafterdusk.17
Withbayonetsfixedand riflesloaded, thetroopsfacedthe
largecrowdofblacksthatmetthetrain.Althoughmanyblacks
brandishedshotgunsand pistols,theymade no effortto intersensationalaccountsin
ferewiththetroops.Even theblatantly
whitenewspapersadmittedthat"therewas no appearanceof
riotor disorder."18
JudgePaul E. Seabrook,theSuperiorCourt
thatincludedMclntoshCounty,gave an
the
for
district
judge
to
impromptuspeech the crowdurgingthemto disperseand
announcedthatthe troopshad come to transportDelegale to
Savannah.19His audience, now assured thatDelegale would
not be lynchedwhile in transitto Savannah, erupted in
applause and celebration.20
Aftermarchingthe troops to the jail, the commanding
militiaofficerreportedto SheriffBlount. Withinminutes,
and severalprominentwhitesled
MayorKenan, the sheriff,
Delegale out of thejail and to thetrain.Once theprisonerand
a smallguardof militiawereaboardthetrain,themilitiacom16Themost detailed coverage of the early eventsin Danen is m AtlantaConstitution,
Savannah Press,
August 24-27, 1899; Savannah MorningNews, August 24-27, 1899;
August■ 24-27, 1899.
it rl
"loia.
I
l8SavannahMorningNews,August 25, l»yy.
19Seabrook,born in South Carolina of a distinguishedfamily,had been appointed
and Mclntosh counties
judge for the districtthatincluded Bryan, Effingham,Liberty,
durine the previous year. Darien Gazette,November 5, 1898.
August 24, 1899.
^Savannah Press,August 24, 1899; AtlantaConstitution,
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The Darien "Insurrection"
243
At the urgingof the local sheriff,Governor Allen D. Candler sent unitsof the state militiato quell black unrestduring
the Darien "insurrection."Photograph
Rare
courtesy
ofHargrett
Bookand ManuscriptLibrary,University
ofGeorgiaLibraries.
manderand mostof thetroopstookup positionsin thecenter
of Darien. Sentrieswere postedthroughoutthe town(and in
and thetroopsspentan
theblackBaptistchurchin particular),
eventlessnightmarchingthe streetsof thetown.21
The crisisin Darienmightwellhaveended withoutfurther
turmoilhad the local authorities
refrainedfromroundingup
withthe
theorganizersof theblackguardwho had interfered
sheriff.Unable to ignoresuch a blatantgestureof resolveby
blacksor the possibleconsequencesif the "rioters"wentun21The details of the militia'sduty in Danen is recorded in the Adjutant General s
Report, GeorgiaSenateJournal,1899, 112-25.
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244
Georgia Historical
Quarterly
thatthosewholed the
"determined
punished,localauthorities
mob . . . shall feel the weightof the strongarm theyhave
shallbe metedout to them."On
defied,and thatpunishment
the
24,
day followingthe removalof Delegale, the
August
Whilethesearrests
sheriff
arrestedthirty-five
alleged"rioters."
few
the
seemtohaveprompted disturbances, actionsofa quasiofficialposse of whiteshad theoppositeeffect.22
Around threeo'clockon the morningof August25, two
temporarily
appointed deputies,Robert Townsend and O.
Hopkins,traveledto the Delegale homesteadseveral miles
fromDarien.Once at thehouse,theydemandedthattheDelegale sonssurrenderto themon chargesof havingincitedthe
theblackmenagreed,butwhenHopunrestin Darien.Initially
kinsflourished
hisgun,someonein thehouseopened firewith
a shotgunon thetwowhitemen.The blasthitbothmen,killing
Townsendand severelywoundingHopkins.23
Under any cirin theSouth,theshootingofwhitesbyblackswould
cumstances
excitelocalwhites;MclntoshCountywhiteshad theadditional
to blacksthattheirdeincentiveto demonstrate
unequivocally
fiancewould not be tolerated.But no lynchingsor further
bloodshedfollowed.Instead,a biracialeffortbylocallyprominentblacksand militiaofficers
workedto ease theclearlyvolatilesituation.
ColonelAlexanderR. Lawton,the rankingcommanderof
the militia,tookthe firststep in restoringorder.To prevent
the sheriff'sposse fromdegeneratinginto a lynchmob, he
to enlisttheaid ofthemilitiain capturing
convincedthesheriff
the Delegales.Boththe posse and themilitiaraced to capture
the black family,but beforethe posse reached the Delegale
of thefamilymettheadvancingmihomestead,thematriarch
litiaand pleaded forthetroopsto protecther familyfromthe
posse.The militiaofficers
persuadedthesheriff's
posse,which
includedthe brothersof the twomen who had been shot,to
surrendertheirarmsand to promiseto refrainfromviolence
againstthe family.The Delegalesthensurrenderedand were
22McIntoshCounty Superior Court Jail Record, 1886-1927, 33-36. MicrofilmReel
34, Drawer 64, Georgia Departmentof Archives8c History,Atlanta,Georgia. See also
SavannahMorningNews,August 25, 1899.
^Savannah Press,August 25, 1899; AtlantaConstituition,
August 26, 1899; Savannah
MorningNews,August 26, 1899.
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The Darien "Insurrection"
245
movedwithoutincidentto thejail in Darien.Almostcertainly,
had themilitianotbeen presentthe posse wouldhave carried
out itsavowedintentionto avengethe shootingof Townsend
and Hopkinsbyexecutingtheentireblackfamily.24
Col. Lawtonmetwithten of the county'smostprominent
blacksand askedthemto use theirinfluenceto calmtheblack
of theRevs.E. M. Brawley,
The group,consisting
community.
Paul R. Mifflin,J. P. Davis, all ministersin local Baptist
church,the
churches,theRev.J. D. Taylorof thePresbyterian
Rev. G. W. Butlerof theAfricanMethodistEpiscopalchurch,
the Rev. F. M. Mann of the St. CyprianP. EpiscopalChurch,
ofDarien,JohnC. Lawton,fedCharlesR.Jackson,postmaster
eral collectorof customsforDarien,S. W. Mclver,chairman
of the local Republicanparty,and JamesL. Grant,editorof
in thewhite
theDarienSpectator,
enjoyedexcellentreputations
been
who
had
These
black
leaders,
conspicuously
community.25
silentduringthepreviousweek,collaboratedon a circularthat
thecountyand widelypublished.They
was postedthroughout
insistedthatblacksrefrainfromanyactsthatmightincitewhite
violenceand thattheyrecognizethatthetroopswerenotpresentsolelyto protect"whiteinterests."
The circularadmonished
womento "abstainfromall wordsthatmayinciterashnessor
maybe abusive.And by all meanslet everyman see to it that
no coloredwomanshallshowher faceat thecourthouseor on
the streetsthereto...." In conclusion,the circularurged all
local residentsto upholdthelaw and "tobringbackto our city
and countythatpeace and harmonybetweenthe races with
whichin thepastwe have been so signallyblessed."26
The combination
ofthecircularand theapparentintention
of Col. Lawtonto preventany mob violencepersuadedmany
of the allegedblackriotersto turnthemselvesin. Duringthe
nexttwodaysthenumberof allegedriotersinjail roseto fiftyeightmen and fivewomen.Two days afterthe issuingof the
^Savanna Press,August 26-27, 1899; SavannahMorningNews,August 26-27, 1899.
25The local white newspaper, for example, noted that Rev. Mifflin"is thought a
heap of by the white people of Darien," Darien Gazette,April 29, 1899.
26
'AtlantaConstitution,
August 28, 1899; GeorgiaSenateJournal,1899, 112-25,includes
the militiacommander's account as well as the proclamation issued by the committee
of local blacks.
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246
Georgia Historical
Quarterly
The Darienincidentprovokedalarmist
headlinesthroughout
the statesuchas
thesefromthe SavannahPresson August26, 1899.
circular,a specialtermoftheSuperiorCourtconvenedin Darin the
ien and took up the cases of the variousparticipants
intent
on
"insurrection."
the
emptying jail of
JudgeSeabrook,
beforeturntherioters,scheduledthetrialsof theriotersfirst,
watched
of
to
the
cases
HenryDelegale,whosealclosely
ing
the
and of hisfamily,
whowas
had
turmoil,
sparked
leged rape
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The Darien "Insurrection"
247
chargedwithmurderingRobertTownsendand woundingO.
Hopkins.
of the alleged rioters
When the trialbegan, twenty-three
were convictedwhilethe chargesagainstthe remainingforty
were dropped. The riotersreceivedstifffinesrangingfrom
two hundred and fiftyto one thousanddollars and prison
termsof twelvemonths'hard labor.27Then Judge Seabrook
tookup the cases of HenryDelegale and his twosons,ruling
in favorof theirmotionfor a change of venue and thereby
ensuringa fairertrialthanwouldhave been possiblein Mclntosh County.At the close of the trialsin nearbyEffingham
County,Johnand EdwardDelegale,chargedwiththemurder
of RobertTownsend,receivedlifesentences,buttheirbrother
and sister,who also had been chargedwiththe murder,were
acquitted.The jury also concludedthatHenryDelegale was
the turmoil
innocentof the rape chargethathad precipitated
of thepastmonth.28
suffered
The convictedDelegales and the rioterscertainly
while
fortheiractions.The Delegalesenduredharshtreatment
in
the
Brooks
convict
their
sentences
County
camp in
serving
southGeorgia.The convictedrioters,includingtwo women,
Louisa Underwoodand Maria Curry,were hired out to the
Jamessawmillat Adrian,Georgia.Althougha revisionof the
convictlease law had prohibitedtheleasingof womenprisoners, the two women,in apparentviolationof the new law,
servedout theirtermsat the sawmill.29
leftlittledoubt
The conclusionoftheDarien"insurrection"
thatwhitescouldsuppressorganizedblackprotest.Whilewhite
lynchersbeforeand afterthe incidentacted withlittlefearof
prosecution,the stiffpenaltiesmetedout to the "rioters"in
raMclntoshCountywerecruelremindersof thetransparent
cial bias of Georgia'scourts.And the presenceof statemilitia
to restoreorder underscoredthe overpoweringarsenal that
whiteshad at theirdisposalto shoreup theirdomination.Yet,
27McIntoshCounty Superior Court Minutes,Book E, 1896-1905, 174-97; Savannah
Press,September 1, 1899.
28McIntoshCounty Superior Court Minutes, Book E, 1896-1905, 227-28.
29DarienGazette,February 24, 1900; ThirdAnnual Reportof thePrisonCommission
of
Georgia,1899-1900 (Atlanta, 1900), 42; Actsand Resolutions
oftheGeneralAssembly
ofthe
StateofGeorgia,1897 (Atlanta, 1898), 71-76.
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248
Georgia Historical
Quarterly
the "insurrection"
also exposed severaldistinctive
characteristicsofracerelationsin theregion.Boththerestrained
response
of thelocalwhitesand theSavannahmilitiacommanderto the
blackprotesters
and theirwillingness
to workwithlocal black
leadersto quell tensionstypified
the meticulously
maintained
tone and conventions
of race relationsin the region.In addiand militancy
ofcoastalblacksalso served
tion,theorganization
as a warningto whitesthatblackswouldnotlet mob violence
pass withoutprotest.30
The eventsin MeintoshCountycastlighton thecomparativeinfrequency
oflynchings
in coastalGeorgiaduringthelate
nineteenthand early twentiethcenturies.In a state where
blackswerecommonplacevictimsof thenoose and torch,only
thirteen
occurredin thesixcoastalcountiesbetween
lynchings
1880 and 1930. No regionin the statehad fewerlynchings,
whethermeasuredin absolutetermsor in proportionto the
totalblackpopulation(see Tables 1 and 2 and map, p. 251).
How thencan theinfrequency
ofmobviolencein thecoastal
be
Whites
region explained?
along the Georgiacoast may in
have
from
refrained
violent
attacksagainstblacksbecause
part
of lingering
but
also
becausetheycouldnotcount
paternalism,
upon a passiveblackresponse.Whiteslackedmanyof thetraditionalmeansto intimidate
blacks;blacksstillretainedmodest
a
modicum
of economicindependence,and
politicalrights,
durablecommunity
werelessvulnerable
bonds,and therefore
to manynon-violent
formsof coercion.But whitescould not
turnto violencebecausetheyrecognizedtheywerenot
lightly
dealingwitha cowedand impotentblackpopulation.
Whenwhitesin MclntoshCountyconcludedthatblackbehaviorhad exceededappropriateboundaries,theyhad to rely
upon the outsideaid of the stateto restoreorder and caste
boundaries.That whitesin MclntoshCountyfeltcompelledto
takesuchstepsis indicativenotof theirstrength,
butratherof
theircomparative
weaknessand thestrength
of theblackcommunity.Moreover,therelianceon stateintervention
bycoastal
30Foran account of the Darien "Insurrection"that reaches very differentconclusions, see ArthurRaper, The TragedyofLynching
(Chapel Hill, 1933), 232. Raper's brief
account is marred by numerous errorsand shows littleunderstandingof the tradition
of race relationsin coastal Georgia.
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The Darien "Insurrection"
249
Table 1: Lynching of Blacks by Region and Decade,
Georgia, 1881-1930
Mountain Piedmont BlackBelt Southern Coastal
1881-1890
1891-1900
1901-1910
1911-1920
1921-1930
Total
5
7
0
4
0
5
12
9
8
2
20
45
41
69
20
26
35
40
52
13
16
38
195
166
1
5
3
0
4*
13
in theNew South,"22-75.)
(Source:Brundage,"Lynching
Table 2: Lynchings per 100,000Blacks by Region and
Decade, Georgia, 1881-1930
Mountain Piedmont BlackBelt Southern Coastal
Coastal
1881-1890
1891-1900
1901-1910
1911-1920
1921-1930
36.6
50.7
0
31.3
0
3.9
7.9
5.1
4.3
3.9
3.8
7.6
6.5
11.3
4.0
19.3
16.8
14.1
16.4
4.8
1.6
6.9
4.0
0
5.4*
Average
23.7
5.0
6.6
14.3
3.6
(Source:FederalCensus,1880-1930;ibid.)
♦Note:The totalforthedecade 1921-1930in coastalGeorgiais distorted
bya lynching
of Ware Countywhilein transitbya small
of twoblackmentakenfromthe sheriff
occurredin LibertyCountyin the
mob fromsouthGeorgia.Althoughthe lynching
in or witnessedthe murder.See L. E.
coastalregion,no local residentsparticipated
WilliamstoJohnE. Nail,July21, 1922,NAACP Papers,Box C-355,Libraryof ConNews,July2, 4, 1922.
gress;SavannahMorning
whitescontrastssharplywiththe hastewithwhichwhiteselsewithextralegalviolence.
wherein Georgiapunishedinfractions
of
Grass"
"Wire
in
the
Had blacks
region southernGeorgia,for
a wholesalepogrom
example,ever staged an "insurrection"
have
would
blacks
erupted.31
against
31Forexample,in BrooksCountyin December1894,whiteslauncheda campaign
ofterrorism
againsttheblackpopulationaftersomeblacksarmedtoprotectthemselves
Militiafailedto preventthe murderof
againsta maraudingmob of whitelynchers.
December22-27,
others.See Atlanta
fiveblacksandthebeatingofcountless
Constitution,
December22, 29,
December24, 25, 1894; Valdosta
1894;MaconTelegraph,
DailyTimes,
1894;January5, 1895.
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250
Georgia Historical
Quarterly
Whitesin coastalGeorgiawereno lessvigoroussupporters
- in fact,they
of whitesupremacythanwerewhiteselsewhere
violence
that
but
more
so
often
were
against
theyrecognized
troubleblackscould have unintendedand, more important,
ofeffective
blackleadersomeconsequences.The combination
ofblack
threat
and
the
racial
conflict
to
that
strove
prevent
ship
convinced
manylocal
protestin the eventof whiteviolence
whiteleadersthatracialviolenceposed an unwelcomethreat
whiteleadersgainedlegitito socialtranquility.
Furthermore,
could
alludetothealternatives
They
lynchings.
macybystifling
to theirbenignrule by drawingcomparisonswiththe brittle
race relationselsewherein the South in order to win the allegiance,ifonlygrudgingallegiance,of blackleaders.
Coastalwhitesstruggledtoexplaintheeventsat Darien,but
on
of whiteracismimposedrigidconstraints
the straitjacket
In a climateof
their understandingof the "insurrection."
heightenedracial tensions,whiteswere unable and unwilling
butlawto admitthatthestandbyblacksrepresented
anything
lessness.Whitenewspapersin Savannah attemptedto string
togetheranecdotalaccountsof blackmisdeedsin recentyears
to portraythe blacksof Mclntoshas dangerousand reckless.
and good citizens,"
"We haveoftenpraisedthemas law-abiding
witha feelingof
it
now
is
"and
theDarienGazette
complained,
their
to
we
are
that
sorrow
outrageousprocompelled publish
"32
ofwhitesupremceedings.. . . Whitesrepeatedincantations
acy,but withthe veiled recognitionthattherewere limitsto
theirpower.In a sloganthatsuccinctly
capturedthesentiments
the
in
the
coastal
ofmostwhites
explained
region, DarienGazette
that"thewhitesare goingto rule and rulejustly."33
The editorialcolumnsofthewhitepapers,in apparentconto thesensationaland overdrawnaccountsof blacks
tradiction
in MclntoshCounty,stressedthe importanceof interracial
cooperation in ending the disturbance without greater
of
As one Savannahnewspapernoted,theefforts
bloodshed.34
32DarienGazette,August 26, September 2, 1899.
™Ibid.,September 2, 1899 (italicsadded).
34Forstridenteditorials,see Savannah MorningNews, August ¿1 > leyy; òavannan
Press,August 28, 1899. ContrastwithSavannahMorningNews,August 29, 1899; Savannah Press,August 29, 1899.
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The Darien "Insurrection"
*«Ä*IÄ™ Rhöiom
'f
'és£wac^L^^^Cf^^_F^
V™"
BOLAOC
jlj^p^^«^1"''
/
Lynchmgs
ofBlacksbyRegion,
1880-1930
Georgia,
HKI iT RIQSXGfrl «»'
«166
251
BLLACZKVICTIMS
^^sa
>^H^ fgf t/
Source:adaptedfromRobert
Preston
"TheAgrarian
inGeorgia,
Revolution
Brooks,
1865-1912," in GeorgiaStudies:SelectedWritingsof RobertPrestonBrooks(Athens, Ga.,
1952),91.
prominentblacksin Darien helped "to cementthe peace and
harmonywhichin thepasthas so signallyblessedtherelationThe lessonthat
shipbetweentheracesin MclntoshCounty."35
Newsdrewfromtheepisodewasthatthe
theSavannahMorning
tworaceshad to worktogetherto ensurethat"misapprehenibSavannahPress,August 29, 1899.
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252
Georgia Historical
Quarterly
sions"of eitherrace did not producesimilaroutburstsin the
future.36
shared a
Prominentblacks,like theirwhitecounterparts,
commitment
to maintaining
tranquilrace relations.They only
had tolookelsewherein theSouthtosee howbad racerelations
could be; and whiletheyarguedthatthestatusofblacksin the
coastalregiondemandedimprovement,
theystroveto prevent
erosionof thepositionof blacks.Whenracialconanyfurther
to diffusethe
flicteruptedin Darien,theyworkeddiligently
tension.At times,as in thecrisisat Darienin 1899,theyhad to
mediatebetweenwhitesand theblackrankand filewhobitterly
resentedabuse at thehandsof whites.37
of the Darien "insurWhat,then,is thelargersignificance
rection"?Ratherthan discountthe eventsin 1899 as excepof race
tional,theyshouldbe seen as examplesof thediversity
relationsthatexistedeven duringthe"higheststage"of white
Whenattemptedlynchings
receivecarefulscholsupremacy.38
it is likelythattheportraitof southernblacksas
arlyscrutiny,
ofmobviolencewillneed seriousrevisullen,powerlessvictims
blackswellunderstoodthatvigorous
sion.Aftermostlynchings
would
be
suppressedbrutallyby whites.But priorto
protest
and
arousedblackswereofteninventive
threatenedlynchings
vocal opponentsof mob violence.These bold stands,like the
thatwhite
offerjust one demonstration
Darien "insurrection,"
violenceneed not alwaysproducepervasivefatalismor strict
obedienceamongblacks,evenduringan era ofascendantwhite
also suggestsnew approaches
supremacy.The "insurrection"
to thequestionoftheseemingly
baffling
geographicaldistribuin the South.In the searchforexplanations
tionof lynchings
of the patternof lynching,scholarshave pointedto a wide
causes,rangingfromthe persistence
varietyof socioeconomic
^Savannah MorningNews,August 29, 1899.
"Two recentstudies,whichoffertrenchantdiscussionsof black leaders in Norfolk
and Louisville, shed light on attitudesthat were similar to those of black leaders in
coastal Georgia. See Earl Lewis, "At Work and At Home: Blacks in Norfolk,Virginia,
1910-1945" (Ph.D. dissertation,Universityof Minnesota, 1984), 179-83; and George
1865-1930 (Baton Rouge,
C. Wright,LifeBehindtheVeil: Blacksin Louisville,Kentucky,
1985), esp. 156-75.
interestin the Darien "insurrection"and otherexamples of black protest
S8Scholarly
in the South will begin to answer Howard Rabinowitz'srecent call for more research
on the "fluidity"of race relations during the period of segregation. See Howard
Rabinowitz,"More Than the Woodward Thesis: Assessing The StrangeCareerofJim
Crow,"JournalofAmericanHistory75 (December 1988), 848.
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The Darien "Insurrection"
253
in cottonprices.If blacks
of frontier
conditionsto fluctuations
it
is
into
the
at
usuallybyrelatingthegeogfigure
equation all,
of lynchingsto the proportionof blacks
raphicaldistribution
in thepopulation.39
In additionto the traditionalexplanationsof the patterns
- poverty,
of lynching
weak ruralgovernments,
and economic
conditions,for example the protestof blacks in Mclntosh
Countypointsto thelikelihoodthatblacksthemselves
imposed
limitson whiteviolence.In otherareas of the South where
blacksenjoyeda range of economicpossibilities,
a degree of
communalautonomyand articulateleadership,blacks were
oftenoutspokenin theiroppositionto lynching.In Tidewater
Virginia,forexample,a regionthatshared manytraitswith
coastal Georgia,African-Americans
on severaloccasionsorinto
themselves
unofficial
militia
and protectedalleged
ganized
blackcriminals
whiletheywereinjail. And afterseverallynchingsTidewaterblackstookto the streetsto expresstheiroutwheretheobstaclesto blackself-derage.40Evenin Mississippi,
fensewereas greatas anywherein theSouth,someblackcommunitiesviolently
resistedwhitevigilantism.41
Deeplyresentful
of each failureof local authoritiesto protectthemfrommob
violence,some blacksturnedto theirown race forprotection.
Nowherein the South did blackshave the effective
meansto
but
and
as
the
Darien"insurrecsuppresslynching, theycould,
tion"indicatesdid, playan important
and complexrole in rewhiteviolence.
straining
S9Forjust a sampling of effortsto explain the pattern of lynching,see Hubert
Relations(New York, 1967), 157-59; Carl I.
Blalock, Towarda TheoryofMinority-Group
Hovland and Robert R. Sears, "Correlation of Lynchings with Economic Indices,"
9 (April 1940): 301-10; John Shelton Reed, "Percent Black and
Journalof Psychology
Lynching:A Test of Blalock's Theory," Social Forces50 (March 1972): 356-60; Earl F.
and Social
Young, "The Relation of Lynchingto the Size of Population Areas," Sociology
Research12 (March-April 1928): 348-53.
40Blacksorganized guards to protectjails in Hampton, Virginia in January 1889
and Richmond in May 1901. Near Norfolk, in 1904, intimidated white authorities
called in the state militiato restoreorder afterthe black population reacted withfury
to the lynchingof George Blount, a politician and outspoken opponent of white supremacy. In the aftermathof other lynchings,blacks organized campaigns to raise
money for the victims'familiesand to protestwhite lawlessness. See Robert F. Engs,
Freedom's
FirstGeneration:
BlackHampton,Virginia,1861-1890 (Philadelphia, 1979), 195;
RichmondDispatch,May 8, 1901; RichmondPlanet, May 11, 1901; Portsmouth
Star, October 25-30, 1904; NorfolkVirginian-Pilot,
October 25-November 1, 1904; Richmond
October 25-29, 1904.
Times-Disàatch,
41NeilR. McMillen,DarkJourney:BlackMississippians
in theAge ofJimCrow(Urbana,
111.,1989), 225-26.
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