The Arkansas Insurrection

Click photos to enlarge.
Photo by Larry Jameson

The Arkansas Insurrection happened during the elections of 1872 and is also known as the Brooks-Baxter War. Joseph Brooks led the Brindletail Republicans while Elisha Baxter headed the Minstrel Republicans.

Southern Democrats were pretty much a non-issue since persons who had shown sympathy to the Confederacy were not allowed to vote. Many Democrats boycotted elections after the Civil War because their leaders were ineligible to hold office and the polling places and vote counting were controlled by the Republicans.

Lady Baxter
Photo by Larry Jameson

The Lady Baxter stands on the grounds of the Old State House just a few blocks from where it actually stood in 1874 as the opposing electoral parties prepared for battle to determine who would be the governor of Arkansas. It was a refurbished cannon that had been captured from the Confederacy.

Lady Baxter Closeup
Photo by Larry Jameson

The Minstrel Republicans were the dominant Republican wing and had no problems burning ballots cast for Brooks, voting multiple times and enrolling dead people to vote. The expected result was Baxter receiving the most votes. Brooks was not a happy camper. He had engineered the Republican takeover of Arkansas in 1868 and after all the politcal appointments and money projects were passed out, Brooks received nothing.

Brooks strategy had been to run on a platform of giving the former Confederates the right to vote and granting universal amnesty. He couldn't believe that he had lost the election with support from the Democrats after he'd been endorsed by the Democratic Central Committee. He filed a protest with Pulaski County Circuit Judge Whytock.

Baxter was inaugurated governor in January, 1873. A year later, Judge Whytock declared Brooks to be the winner of the 1872 governor's race. Chief Justice Jack McClure performed the swearing-in ceremony within minutes and Brooks, accompanied by several armed men, went to the governor's office and literally dragged Baxter out. By mid-afternoon about 300 troops occupied the Arkansas Capitol (the Old State House).

Baxter moved to the Anthony House at Markham & Scott Streets and began planning a way to retake the governorship. When President Grant refused to allow Baxter to draw weapons from the federal arsenal, Baxter's supporters gathered as many guns as could be found in Little Rock shops and sent a delegation to Texas to buy more. The Lady Baxter was placed at the intersection of Markham & Scott.

By mid-April both sides had about 600 armed supporters. Brooks had erected breastworks around the Capitol and prepared for battle. Both side had wired President Grant for support, but Grant did nothing. Brooks "army" was composed of his Brindletail Republican supporters, Democrats and about 450 blacks while Baxter's "army" was mostly white. That changed when 800 black troops arrived from Pine Bluff to support Baxter.

Colonel T. E. Rose, commandant of the Federal arsenal, was ordered by President Grant to prevent the two sides from fighting. After much shouting the 800 black troops supporting Baxter turned to move into position on Main Street. Rose mistook that as a maneuver beginning an assault and rode through the black troops to prevent any acts of aggression. A struggle ensued during which Rose's pistol was discharged.

Both sides assumed the other was attacking, and the gunfire began. Sporadic fighting continued until May 12 when troops from the Federal arsenal were finally able to take control. The legislature met and declared Baxter to be governor.

But Democrats now had the right to vote. In 1874 they nominated Augustus Garland to be their candidate for governor. He won, and so did every Democrat candidate for governor from 1874 until 1966 when Winthrop Rockefeller defeated Orvil Faubus.