In the message Starkweather asks for military assistance to protect the city from Klan violence: "Guard needed here--Civil guard overpowered and prisoner taken out by Ku Klux, our lives in danger--Officer in charge refused to stay."
In the letter Mrs. Vaughan explains that her husband, Vernon Henry Vaughan, has been arrested for being a "defiant Republican." The Ku Klux Klan has threatened their entire family, and they are no longer safe in the city: "They put him in jail...
In the letter Guin, the sheriff of Sanford County (present-day Lamar County) describes violence against African American citizens in Fayette County. He gives details about six murders that have occurred in the last few months; the guilty parties...
2009-09-15
QuickView
Display a larger image and more item information when the pointer pauses over a thumbnail