Colfax massacre
The Colfax Massacre, or Colfax Riot occurred on Easter Sunday, April 13, 1873, in Colfax, Louisiana, the seat of Grant Parish, during confrontation between opposing political forces of the Republicans and Democrats.
In the wake of the contested 1872 election for governor of Louisiana and local offices, a group of Democrats, armed with rifles and a small cannon, overpowered Republican 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; nearly 50 were killed later that night after being held as prisoners for several hours. Estimates of the number of dead have varied, ranging from 62 to 153; three whites died but the number of black victims was difficult to determine because bodies had been thrown into the river or removed for burial. There were rumors of mass graves at the site.
