The Colfax Massacre became a rallying point for both sides. President Grant declared parts of Louisiana to be in a state of insurrection and imposed martial law. More elements of the Seventh Cavalry were sent to the South, but not in sufficient numbers to overawe the nightriders. The federal government, using the Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871, which had proved effective against the Klan, put nine of the perpetrators of the Colfax massacre on trial, but only three were convicted, and not for murder but the lesser charge of conspiracy.
