An Absolute Massacre - by James G Hollandsworth (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In the summer of 1866, racial tensions ran high in Louisiana as a constitutional convention considered disenfranchising former Confederates and enfranchising blacks. On July 30, a procession of black suffrage supporters pushed through an angry throng of hostile whites. Words were exchanged, shots rang out, and within minutes a riot erupted with unrestrained fury. When it was over, at least forty-eight men--an overwhelming majority of them black--lay dead and more than two hundred had been wounded. In An Absolute Massacre, James G. Hollandsworth, Jr., examines the events surrounding the confrontation and offers a compelling look at the racial tinderbox that was the post-Civil War South.

Review Quotes

"A compelling narrative that follows the riot from its wartime origins through its impact on subsequent Reconstruction policy. . . . A very engrossing read."---- "American Historical Review"

"A superb narrative that brings to life the riot and its participants as never before."---- "North and South"

"Hollandsworth weaves a narrative of events shocking in themselves . . . almost wholly a police-perpetrated murder of dozens of blacks and pro-Union whites."---- "Booklist"

"Hollandsworth's skillful use of riveting firsthand testimony and dramatic recreation of key events offer chilling insight into the deadly assault."---- "Journal of Southern History"

"In sublime detail, and with a novelist's flair, Hollandsworth takes the reader through the [riot], almost by the hour, describing both the fear and the fury."---- "Register of the Kentucky Historical Society"

About the Author

James G. Hollandsworth, Jr., was the author of The Louisiana Native Guards: The Black Military Experience during the Civil War and Pretense of Glory: The Life of Nathaniel P. Banks.