The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957 Page: 30
616 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
ages.22 Martial law was continued in Walker County for sixty
days, and an assessment was levied and collected in the county
to pay expenses of troops quartered there.
The last fierce outbreak of this sort occurred in September,
1871. On the last day of that month, in the town of Groesbeck,
a citizen was shot and killed by a negro policeman in a barroom
brawl. A wave of excitement swept through the town as the citi-
zens armed themselves and prepared to attack the police. "Law-
lessness and mobocracy prevailed,"2" complained the mayor, who
allowed himself to be cajoled by the townspeople into issuing a
warrant for the arrest of two state policemen on the charge of
murder. As the tension continued to mount, the governor or-
dered a detachment of two hundred militia-men to proceed to
the disturbed area,24 and on the following day issued a proclama-
tion of martial law in both Limestone and Freestone counties.25
As had been the case in Walker County, a military tribunal was
convened and an assessment was levied against the inhabitants.26
These incidents contributed to a growing anti-administration
sentiment, the intensity of which was in no way lessened by the
governor's indiscreet use of negro troops for political purposes.
For example, on August 9, 1871, just prior to a scheduled elec-
tion, Davis issued a remarkable proclamation giving explicit in-
structions to prospective voters. He forbade loitering, assembling,
shouting, jeering, drinking, and carrying firearms, and he in-
structed peace officers, State Guards, or militia on duty at the
polls to enforce compliance with his instructions.27 A storm of
protest followed. The proclamation was denounced as subversive
of liberty and repeated demands were made upon Davis to with-
draw it.2s His refusal to comply merely added fuel to the flames.
22Daily State Journal (Austin) April 9, 1872.
23A. Zadez to J. W. Oliver, October 5, 1871. Martial Law in Limestone County,
1871-1873 (MS., Reconstruction Papers, Texas State Library, Austin).
24E. J. Davis to A. G. Malloy, October 8, 1871, in ibid.
25Proclamation issued on October g, 1871 (MS., Executive Record Book No. 284,
Texas State Library, Austin).
26The military commission was convened on October 14, 1871, by means of Special
Order No. 71, Adjutant General of Texas, Martial Law in Limestone County,
1871-1873 (MS., Reconstruction Papers, Texas State Library, Austin).
27Daily State Journal (Austin), August 13, 1871.
28House Miscellaneous Documents, 42nd Cong., 2nd Sess. (Serial No. 1526),
Document No. 163, p. 256.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957, periodical, 1957; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101163/m1/43/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.