1919 Morgan County, West Virginia riot

Morgan County, West Virginia riot of 1919 Red Summer File:Map of Morgan County in West Virginia.jpg 300px B&W newspapers Sheriff Hovermale fled with Ferguson from Hancock to Berkeley Springs then to Martinsburg, West Virginia Morgan County, West Virginia April 10, 1919 Dozens wounded The Morgan County, West Virginia race riot of 1919 was caused by big business using African-American strikebreakers against striking white workers in Morgan County, West Virginia.Marcelle 2016 Racial incident On the same day of the riots, Hugh Ferguson, black man, was accused of raping Mrs. Ernest Zimmerman at her home near Brosius, Morgan County (now known as Hancock, West Virginia).The Wheeling Intelligencer 1919 1 An angry mob of several hundred men formed around the jail hoping to lynch Ferguson. Sheriff C. R. Hovermale was forced to flee with Ferguson to Berkeley Springs.The Wheeling Intelligencer 1919 1 When the lynching mob followed them they were again forced to flee to the county seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, Martinsburg.The Wheeling Intelligencer 1919 1 On June 25, 1919, Ferguson was convicted of rape and sentenced to death.1919-06-26 Article clipped from The Charleston Daily Mail https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charleston-daily-mail/129770304/ 2026-01-26 The Charleston Daily Mail 5 He was identified by Mrs. Zimmerman at the trial.1919-06-26 Article clipped from The Charleston Daily Mail https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charleston-daily-mail/129770304/ 2026-01-26 The Charleston Daily Mail 5 Ferguson maintained his innocence at his trial, but made a full confession to the prison warden and a chaplain a month later.1919-07-24 Hugh Ferguson Admission of guilt. https://www.newspapers.com/article/shepherdstown-register-hugh-ferguson-adm/154288694/ 2026-01-26 Shepherdstown Register 4 He was lawfully executed by hanging at the West Virginia Penitentiary on August 6, 1919, shortly after making a second confession.1919-08-07 Article clipped from The Wheeling Intelligencer https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wheeling-intelligencer/129770972/ 2026-01-26 The Wheeling Intelligencer 3 In September 1919, seven men were indicted for the attempted lynching of Ferguson. It is unclear whether any of them were convicted. Aftermath Red Summer This uprising was one of several incidents of civil unrest that began in the so-called American Red Summer, of 1919. Terrorist attacks on black communities and white oppression in over three dozen cities and counties. In most cases, white mobs attacked African American neighborhoods. In some cases, black community groups resisted the attacks, especially in Chicago and Washington DC. Most deaths occurred in rural areas during events like the Elaine massacre in Arkansas, where an estimated 100 to 240 black people and 5 white people were killed. Also in 1919 were the Chicago Race Riot and Washington D.C. race riot which killed 38 and 39 people respectively, and with both having many more non-fatal injuries and extensive property damage reaching up into the millions of dollars.The New York Times 1919 See also Capital punishment in West Virginia List of people executed in West Virginia List of people executed in the United States in 1919 List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States Mass racial violence in the United States Washington race riot of 1919 Bibliography Notes 20em References Marcelle Dale Pitchforks and Negro Babies: America's Shocking History of Hate 2016 AuthorHouse 9781524625764 - Total pages: 328 For Action on Race Riot Peril The New York Times The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1919/10/05/archives/for-action-on-race-riot-peril-radical-propaganda-among-negroes.html The New York Times New York, NY 1553-8095 1645522 October 5, 1919 July 5, 2019 April 10, 1919 Negro Nearly Lynched After Brutal Attack The Wheeling Intelligencer The Intelligencer and Wheeling News Register https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092536/1919-04-10/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=04%2F10%2F1919&index=1&date2=04%2F21%2F1919&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=1&words=county+Morgan&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=Morgan+County&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1 The Intelligencer and Wheeling News Register Wheeling, West Virginia 13502337 July 18, 2019 39.6928 -78.1775 t Category:Red Summer Category:Anti-black racism in West Virginia Category:Attacks on prisons and jails in the United States Category:1919 riots in the United States Category:July 1919 in the United States Category:Riots and civil disorder in West Virginia Category:April 1919 in the United States Category:Union violence Category:Vigilantism against sex offenders in the United States Category:White American riots in the United States