Headlines from the front page of the August 2, 1872, issue of the Daily Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee, three weeks after Sheriff Dodson's posse murdered two prisoners being "escorted" from the county seat in Dover to Circuit Judge May in Dardanelle, Yell County.
In the aftermath of the American Civil War, Pope County, Arkansas experienced a tumultuous seven-month period during the Reconstruction era known as the Pope County Militia War. This time was characterized by political and civil unrest, as four county officials, aided by an unofficial militia, purportedly manipulated county affairs to benefit their own agenda. These officials persistently urged the Arkansas governor to impose martial law in the county,[1] with the aim of exerting greater control over voter registration and the November 1872 election.[2][3][4]
By the end of this "militia war", three of the four county officials had been killed—and martial law had not been declared.
The fourth official, the county's superintendent of schools, left the state.
This troubling period in Pope County was covered extensively in local, state, and national newspapers, including front-page spreads in the New York Herald, Chicago Tribune, and Memphis Daily Appeal.
On October 10, 1872, a Special Commission appointed by the Arkansas Governor reported, "We are satisfied that much of the bad feeling existing in Pope county has been engendered and fostered by unscrupulous politicians."[5]
^"Clear, Concise and Fair Statement of the Troubles by a Union Soldier". The Memphis Daily Appeal. No. 275 Vol 32. Memphis, Tennessee: John M. Keating. September 25, 1872. p. 1. Retrieved 13 March 2023. we have a set of county officials that have bankrupted the county (our county scrip being worth but six cents on the dollar) and are determined at all hazards to prevent an election of new officers by the people, that they may hold over for four years more. To accomplish this thing they concocted a plan by which they could secure martial law, prevent an election, and thus hold over.
^"What Rev J. M. P. Hickerson Says of the Matter". Daily Arkansas Gazette. No. 247, 53rd year. Little Rock, Arkansas. Woodruff, Blocher & Adams. September 12, 1872. p. 4. Retrieved 28 March 2023. ... there was a hungry gang of officials, who being uneasy and fearful as to the results of the coming election, sought strategical remedies to secure their reelection. The political fields had been surveyed and the fact ascertained that none of these officers could be reelected with the present registration. No hope remained. Something had to be done to cut the registration down. Some sort of rumpus had to be kicked up to get martial law and prevent a registration until a few weeks before the election
^"The Plot Thickens". The Missouri Republican. No. 15552. St. Louis, Missouri: George Knapp & Co. September 24, 1872. p. 1. Retrieved 10 March 2023. Williams... has made a confession... revealing a plot deliberately entered into... to place the county under martial law for political purposes.
^"Pope County—Truthful Statement of the Cause of the Troubles, by a Republican". Daily Arkansas Gazette. No. 91, 54th year. Little Rock, Arkansas: Woodruff & Adams. March 6, 1873. p. 2. Retrieved 29 March 2023. ...there would have been no political outbreak or disturbance up to this day, had it not been brought about by the unworthy officers of this county, who, knowing their unpopularity, and knowing that they could not be fairly elected by the people, contrived and, carried into execution their nefarious schemes for the purpose of iniquitously controlling the registration and election in that unfortunate county. Note: Writer is J. B. Bezzo, editor of the Dardanelle Transcript and Eye of the West.
^"Report of the Special Commission to Investigate the Pope County Troubles"". Daily Arkansas Gazette. No. 272, 53rd year. Little Rock, Arkansas. Woodruff, Blocher & Adams. October 15, 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
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