Reconstruction Era | The Great Betrayal | 6
American History Tellers
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The Battle of Hamburg, South Carolina
On July 4th, 1876, two white men named Henry Getson and Thomas Butler confronted an all-black militia parading through the majority black village of Hamburg, South Carolina. After a short argument, militia captain Doc Adams relented and gave the young white men the right of way. As the conflict escalated, Butler drove across the Savannah River into neighboring Augusta, Georgia, and recruited reinforcements. Later that afternoon, Butler returned to Hamburg with a cannon and 200 armed white men. Most were members of paramilitary rifle clubs known locally as the Redshirts. At 7.30 pm, they fired the first shots, igniting a battle that raged for nearly five hours. Men on both sides fell
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