Paramilitary Groups

New liberties, public schools, expanded economic opportunities, and a new life should have awaited African Americans at the end of the Civil War. Instead, however, they experienced violence and intimidation tactics. Paramilitary groups, determined to re-establish white Southern democrats in government positions, used various tactics to guarantee freedmen did not retain their newfound freedom. Continue reading to understand the history behind paramilitary groups after the Civil War!

Paramilitary Groups Definition

The official surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee brought an end to Civil War hostilities between the northern and southern parts of the country. However, the war's end triggered worsened tensions between former enslaved African Americans and their white southern counterparts. The heightened environment caused increased violence, and paramilitary groups sprouted throughout the southern states. In contrast to a government-issued military, a paramilitary group is a form of militia where citizens arm themselves for various reasons. However, the group operates similarly to the military regarding strategies and tactics.

Reconstruction Era

Following the Civil War, a period of restructuring in the South took place known as Reconstruction to reintegrate the former Confederacy into the Union. Radical Republicans took over the Reconstruction of the South in 1867, establishing military districts and requiring the ratification of the 14^th Amendment. The most revolutionary aspect of Reconstruction came from African American participation in the local Southern government. African Americans held government positions in the state and Congress. In addition, Reconstruction saw other vital accomplishments for African Americans, such as anti-segregation laws and public schools.

Fig. 1 A 100-dollar banknote issued by the Confederate States of America, 1862.

While Reconstruction offered positive accomplishments during the period (1865-1877), it quickly dissipated when Southern paramilitary groups brought violence. Though legislation passed in 1871 dismantled the Klu Klux Klan, fractured groups continued to promote white supremacy and challenge new liberties for freedmen. Republican power decreased in the 1870s, and support for the Reconstruction movement waned, with politicians believing that the campaign had been successful. Following the loss of Republican control, the South quickly fell back into white power.

White League

Following the Civil War, severe agitation over enslaved African Americans triggered the forming of white supremacist groups in the South. The White League started in 1874 out of Louisiana, hoping to strong-hand Republicans and stop freed African Americans from participating in politics.

Fig. 2 The Union As it Was, Harper's Weekly, October 10, 1874.

Unlike the Klu Klux Klan, who hid their identities, paramilitary groups such as the White League and others openly flaunted their identities, operated within the public eye, and received coverage from the local newspaper. The group became known as the Democrats' military due to their success in running Republican candidates out of the South. The group was so successful that by 1876 Democrats took over Louisiana's political atmosphere.

Knights of the White Camelia

Paramilitary groups formed throughout Southern states, such as the Knights of White Camelia, which formed in 1867 to support white supremacy in the South. The group maintained white supremacy by resisting freedmen's social and political movements. The Knights spread as far as Texas and the Carolinas. However, they operated more out of the public eye than the KKK. Therefore, the Knights became more effective without using violent means.

Unlike the KKK, the Knights' members consisted of high society individuals such as doctors, lawyers, and officials. Though the Knights did not use violence, their intended goals still maliciously targeted the newly liberated African Americans. However, Republicans publicly announced the group's secrets and rituals in 1868, and the Knights began to decline.

Red Shirts

1876 saw one of the most tumultuous presidential elections in the US when voting in the South became muddled, with Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida all rendering unclear election results. Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes ran against Democrat candidate Samuel Tilden with no clear winner at the end of the race. As a result, white Supremacist groups in the South used violence and intimidation to attempt to elect Samuel Tilden to the presidency.

Fig. 3 A group of Red Shirts posing outside a polling place in North Carolina.

The Red Shirts spread fear in South Carolina, pushing voters to vote for Democrat candidates. The Red Shirts maintained a group of roughly 15,000 men from broken-up KKK clubs that enormously outnumbered South Carolina federal military troops during Reconstruction. The Red Shirts often attacked Republicans, pushing them out of the state. Other crimes involved committing voter fraud and, at times, killing African American freedmen. For example, Red Shirts attacked and murdered several African American militiamen and a senator.

The legality of Paramilitary Groups

Paramilitary groups ran rampant throughout the South after the Civil War, and their violence did not equal illegality. White supremacist groups such as the Knights of the White Camelia, the White League, and the Red Shirts all fought for a similar goal of white Southern supremacy.

Fig 5 KKK members march down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC 1928.

After the 1870s, Republican military forces dwindled in the South, leaving room for the paramilitary groups to continue intimidation tactics. Following the Civil War, most white Southerners wished to return to a pre-war South. The wish to return to the Confederacy meant paramilitary groups operated legally and often publicly throughout the South. The KKK continued operating well into the twentieth century, particularly into the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Paramilitary Groups Summary

In the turbulent period after the Civil War, paramilitary groups sprouted up in Southern states. As opposed to a government-issued military, a paramilitary group is a form of militia where citizens arm themselves for various reasons. The groups use similar strategies and tactics to the military, but with different aims. Groups such as the White League, Knights of the White Camelia, and the Red Shirts became prevalent in the South to re-establish white supremacy. The groups used intimidation tactics and often violence to challenge freedmen's liberties and elect Democrats to state governments. Though many groups were phased out throughout the following decades, the KKK continued threatening the lives of African Americans well into the twentieth century.