Mitcham War

The Mitcham War was a bloody conflict that occurred in Clarke County, Alabama in the early 1890s.[1]

Historical marker detailing Mitcham Beat and the Mitchum War. near McEntyre, Alabama.

The conflict was between rural farmers in remote section of Clarke County named Mitcham Beat and merchants in Coffeeville and other towns near the Mitcham Beat.[1] Some accounts characterize the conflict as resulting from the 1892 elections that left rural whites disenfranchised and angry and resulting in racial violence.[2]

Around 1890, a group of young rural men formed a secret society called "Hell-at-the-Breech" that believed their local economy was being controlled by a small group. On December 25, 1892, the gang entered Coffeeville and murdered a prominent businessman.[1]

Soon a vigilante mob of 500 formed to seek the Hell-at-the-Breech murderers, and eventually killed 5 men.[1]

Different sources have the violence continuing until fall of 1893 after the Hell-at-the-breech disbanded[1] or when the mob of Clarke County men publicly shot a prominent member of the Hell-at-the-Breech gang.[2]

Further reading
  • Brown, Jerry Elijah. Alabama's Mitcham Wars: Essaying Mortal Wounds., Atlanta: Looking Glass Books, 2011.
  • Jackson, Hardy, Joyce White Burrage, and James A. Cox. The Mitcham War of Clarke County, Alabama. Grove Hill, Alabama: Clarke County Democrat, 1988.
  • Jackson, Hardy. "The Middle-Class Democracy Victorious: The Mitcham War of Clarke County, Alabama, 1893." Journal of Southern History 57 (August 1991): 453-78.

In fiction

Hell at the Breech (2003) is a fictional account of the Mitchum War by novelist and Alabama native Tom Franklin (author).

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gollark: I think it's up behind nginx at some subpath.
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References
  1. "Mitcham War". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  2. "Start of Mitcham War". History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research. University of Richmond. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
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