I Saw Death Coming: A History of Terror and Survival in the War against Reconstruction

by Kidada E. Williams

violence. Witnesses made their way to centers of local government—the imposing structures of state capitol buildings, courthouses, and meeting places. Some of the buildings might have been damaged in the war. Others were brand new thanks to rebuilding efforts. Their cladding ranged from simple weatherboard siding, to commanding brick, to Greek Revival finery. Many were two stories high and had common rooms with lofty ceilings, large windows, and rows and rows of benches that accommodated large crowds. Black people were usually denied access to these spaces unless they had been elected to office, were parties to civil or criminal proceedings, or they were there to service them. Survivors entered rooms full of skeptical white strangers—members of Congress, local officials, state legislators, Freedmen’s Bureau agents, law enforcement officials, night riders and their defenders, the press, and the curious public. The records indicate witnesses did not hear all the proceedings. Many of them only entered the room to give their testimonies and respond to questions. In those rooms across the South, survivors answered intimate questions about the unthinkable horrors they had endured, spelling out in graphic detail what had happened to them and people they knew. The testimonies reveal that survivors wanted to show lawmakers and their fellow citizens the sinews of violence, the human toll, in flesh and blood, from the loss of kin, life, home, livelihood, community, instead of anonymi...