Jeff was not happy when Sam arrived back
at Little Rock and reported about the events of the past few days. But he
didn’t have much time to dwell on it, because Jeff got the word, two hours
later. The Pulaski County Court announced the verdict -
Brooks is the winner of the Gubernatorial
Election, and the rightful Governor of Arkansas.
*
Fifteen months had passed since the
election. Armed with this decision, along with many of his followers, Brooks
entered the State House and ordered Baxter out. He was refused. Supporters of
Brooks then removed him by force. On the way out, he stopped, and slowly said,
“You will hear from me – soon.”
Baxter and his followers moved into
Anthony House, a popular hangout for politicians, and only a gunshot away from
the State House.
Legally, Baxter had authority over the
Negro Militia. But they were under the control of Clayton.
Brooks and Baxter both were busy wiring
the President, but he failed to lend his support to either side. It was
beginning to play out like olden times, when two Popes excommunicated each
other.
Brooks, at the State House, had three
hundred guards, who were mostly Blacks and partially armed. He was from the
North, but was unable to get guns through northern Governors. Instead, he wrote
out an Arkansas purchase order for $50,000, getting two thousand rifles, and thirteen
thousand rounds of ammunition. He bought boxes of pistols from St. Louis, plus
three railroad cars full of provisions for a long siege.
US Captain Jeff Rowe refused to supply
guns to either side. Federal troops were still few in number, and would not be
a major force in settling this thing down. Again, he requested more troops. Hundreds
of armed men were arriving in Little Rock from all over Arkansas, mostly in
support of Baxter. Baxter forces cleaned out three gun merchants, and ordered
more guns from Texas.
A cannon, which had been dug out of the
river sand, was cleaned up, dubbed the Lady
Baxter, and was pointed toward the enemy from Anthony house.
Baxter flatly refused to take orders from
Clayton. Realizing Baxter was a man who intended to make his own decisions as
Governor, Clayton changed sides, bringing the Negro Militia under his control
over to Brooks.
Original Brooksites, mostly from hard
feelings toward Clayton, but also realizing Baxter was an honest, good man, swung
over to join the ever-widening circle around Anthony House. Now, the original
forces were exactly reversed.
The most colorful character of the war, a
swashbuckler named Hercules King Cannon White, of Morgan’s Raiders fame, was always spoiling for a fight. He notified
Baxter he was bringing in one thousand fighters to reinstate him. He couldn’t
swing all that, but he did show up aboard the Mary Boyd with three hundred field hands, mostly Blacks, who
marched through town, singing what became known as the Baxter Song all the way to Anthony House.
Another boatload of troops, also mostly
field hands, were brought in from Pine Bluff for Baxter aboard the Kitty Hegler. But the enterprising ship
owner, with visions of becoming rich hauling troops, had his ship stripped of whisky
and most everything else to the tune of one
thousand dollars on the way.
Little Rock was indeed now a powder keg.
In 1873, there were forty-seven Saloons in Little Rock, compared to sixteen
churches. The population was about fourteen thousand. Bands played for both
sides, vendors hawked their wares, and the saloons were doing a booming
business.
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