The Colfax massacre or Colfax Riot occurred on Easter Sunday, April 13, 1873, in Colfax, Louisiana, the seat of Grant Parish. In the wake of a contested election for governor of Louisiana and local offices, a white militia, armed with rifles and a small cannon, overpowered freedmen and state militia trying to control the Grant Parish courthouse in Colfax. White Republican officeholders were not attacked. Most of the freedmen were killed after they surrendered, and nearly 50 were killed later that night after being held as prisoners for several hours. Estimations of the number of dead have... varied. Two U.S. Marshals who visited the site on April 15 and buried dead reported 62 fatalities. A military report to Congress in 1875 identified 81 black men who had been killed by name, and also estimated that 15-20 bodies were thrown into the Red River and another 18 secretly buried — for a grand total of "at least 105." A state historical marker from 1950 noted fatalities as three whites and 150 blacks.
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| Occurred: |
April 13, 1873
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| Location: | Colfax |