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The Wilmington Coup D'état of 1898

The Wilmington Coup D'état of 1898

Summary

This guide identifies collections relating to the November 10, 1898 racial coup in Wilmington, NC, where members of the Democratic party orchestrated a white supremacist political campaign that resulted in the violent overthrow of the locally elected government. In a bid to remove Fusion party members of Black businessmen and their white political allies from public positions of influence, a group of armed, white men—coaxed on and led by powerful community leaders known as The Secret Nine—attacked and killed Black citizens throughout the city, ran out many others, and finally placed their own Democratic candidates in the newly vacated seats.

The events of the 1898 coup marked a turning point in the post-Reconstruction South that changed the trajectory of race relations in North Carolina and marked the start of Jim Crow laws in the state, which further enforced racial segregation through the mid-20th century. Primary source materials dated after the initial events of 1898 and until the 100th anniversary in 1998 illustrate that the coup continued to be invoked in the intervening years as a means to threaten and repress the local Black community. Additional content includes both primary and secondary sources of personal accounts, correspondence, contemporary news coverage, memoranda and resolutions of the main participants, material from the centennial commemoration, as well as the aforementioned from the perspective and experience of Black Americans.

For further information on the lasting racial impacts of 1898 in Wilmington, please refer to the Civil Rights Movement and Wilmington Ten subject guides, linked under Related Special Collections Subject Guides.

Published Works Specific to 1898

These works are arranged in chronological order in order to highlight how the narrative of the coup was presented, and eventually shifted, from the time it occurred through present day. Most early accounts of the coup perpetuate a narrative devised and championed by its perpetrators and members of the Democratic party.
Marrow of Tradition
PS1292.C6 M3 1901
Charles W. Chestnutt, 1901 - Fictionalized account
Some Memories of My Life
E664.W115 A3 1908
Alfred M. Waddell, 1908
Chronicles of the Cape Fear River, 1660-1916
F262.C2 S68 1992
James Sprunt, 1916
Biographical Sketches of Wilmington Citizens
F264.W7 F57 1929
R.H. Fisher, 1929
The Book of Wilmington
F264.W7 H85 1979
Andrew J. Howell, 1930
The Story of the Wilmington Rebellion
F264.W7 H29 2018
Harry Hayden, 1936
Back with the Tides: Memoirs
F262.N5 B44 1937
Ellen Douglas Bellamy, 1937
Memoirs of an Octogenarian
E664.B45 A3
John D. Bellamy, 1942
The Negro and Fusion Politics in North Carolina, 1894-1901
E185.93.N6 E4 1973
Helen G. Edmonds, 1951
Ballots and Fence Rails: Reconstruction and the Lower Cape Fear
F262.C2 E9 1995
William McKee Evans, 1966
Cape Fear Rising
PS3557.E635 C36 1994
Philip Gerard, 1994 - Fictionalized account
Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy
F264.W7 D46 1998
Edited - David S. Cecelski and Timothy B. Tyson, 1998
Where These Memories Grow: History, Memory and Southern Identity
F209 .W47 2000
Edited - W. Fitzhugh Brundage, 2000. See “Land Marks of Power: Building and Southern Past in Raleigh and Wilmington, North Carolina 1885-1915" by Catherine Bishir.
1898 Wilmington Race Riot Report
F264.W7 N678 2006
1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission, 2006
Moving Forward Together: A Community Remembers 1898
F263.5 .M69 2008
Edited - Rhonda Bellamy, 2008
A Day of Blood: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot
F263.5 .U43 2009
LeRae Umfleet, 2009

Related Published Works

These works highlight the political, racial, and social factors that contributed to and were born out of the events of 1898. Main topics include Reconstruction, voting rights, the Democratic Party, and the state of affairs in North Carolina at the time. Please note, some works not available in Randall Library have been listed in the Additional Resources section.
Editor in Politics
PN4874.D33 A35
Josephus Daniels, 1941
Origins of the New South, 1877-1913
F215 .W85 1951
C. Vann Woodward, 1951
Reconstruction in North Carolina
F259 .H23
J.G. de Roulhac Hamilton, 1964
Josephus Daniels: The Small-d Democrat
E748.D19 M6
Joseph L. Morrison, 1966
Maverick Republican in the Old North State: A Political Biography of Daniel L. Russell
F259.R87 C76 1977
Jeffery J. Crow and Robert E. Duren, 1977
Ben Tillman & the Reconstruction of White Supremacy
E664.T57 K36 2000
Stephen Kantrowitz, 2000
Josephus Daniels: His Life & Times
E-book
Lee Craig, 2013

Journal Articles

These articles are accessible via various resources and UNCW provided databases, such as JSTOR.

  • Nash, June. 1973. “The Cost of Violence,” Journal of Black Studies. 4(2) 153-183.
  • Kirshenbaum, A.M. (1998). "The Vampire That Hovers Over North Carolina": Gender, White Supremacy, and the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898. Southern Cultures 4(3), 6-30.
  • Rose, Mariel. 1998. “Pokomoke: A Study in Remembering and Forgetting,” Ethnohistory 45(3), 543-573.
  • West, Henry Litchfield. “The Race War in North Carolina,” Forum, January 1899
  • Cash, W. J. “Jehovah of the Tar Heels,” American Mercury, July 1929.
  • Watson, Richard L., Jr. “Furnifold Simmons: ‘Jehovah of the Tar Heels?” North Carolina Historical Review 44, no. 2 (April 1967).
  • Prather, H, Leon. “The Red Shirt Movement in North Carolina 1898-1900.” Journal of Negro History 62, no. 2 (April 1977).
  • Steelman, Bennett L. “Black, White and Gray: The Wilmington Race Riot in Fact and Legend,” North Carolina Literary Review 2 no. 1 (Spring 1994).
  • McLaurin, Melton Alonza. “Commemorating Wilmington’s Racial Violence of 1898: From Individual to Collective Memory,” Southern Cultures 6, no. 4 (Winter 2000).
  • Rogoff, Leonard. “A Tale of Two Cities: Race, Riots, and Religion in New Bern and Wilmington, North Carolina, 1898,” Southern Jewish History 14 (2011).
  • Williams, Rachel Marie-Crane. “A War in Black and White” The Cartoons of Norman Ethre Jennett & the North Carolina Election of 1898,” Southern Cultures 19, no. 2 (Summer 2013).
  • Cara F. Ward & Lisa B. Buchanan (2021) "Memorializing whiteness in state standards and local history: A critical sociohistorical consciousness analysis of The Coup of 1898 and Southern racial violence," Whiteness and Education, DOI: 10.1080/23793406.2021.1961099

Video

The 1898 Wilmington Racial Violence and Its Legacy [videorecording]: A Symposium / University of North Carolina at Wilmington
F263.5 .E53 1998
A video presentation of the 1998 symposium lectures held at UNCW on the 1898 riot in Wilmington, North Carolina. Volumes 1-5.
Wilmington on Fire

This film chronicles the attack on the African-American community that unseated elected officials in the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina on November 10, 1898. Previously the city had thrived and been fully integrated both in business relations and socially, including interracial marriages. The massacre and coup d'etat was the springboard for the white supremacy movement and Jim Crow segregation throughout the state of North Carolina and the American South. Available to stream online via the library catalog.
The Red Cape [videorecording]
PN1995.9.D7 R429 2017
A narrative exploration of the insurrection and massacre known as The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot. This event is the only proven violent overthrow of a government in United States history. Originally produced as a motion picture in 2016.

Manuscript Collections Held at UNCW

MS 034 McDonald-Howe Family Papers

The McDonald-Howe Family Papers encompass a rare piece of history in southeastern North Carolina, beginning in 1861 when the freedom of Frederick Howe is granted. This collection contains character references, baptismal certificates, court documents, correspondence, photographs, an autobiography, educational resumes, and an eyewitness account of the 1898 Wilmington Coup, along with other family documents.

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MS 069 Wilmington Riot of November 10, 1898 Source Documents

This collection was compiled in 1973 by Michael Glancy, to complete his Multiple Abilities Project research report entitled "The Wilmington Riot of November 10, 1898." The collection includes xerographic, microform, and photocopies of newspaper and periodical articles, letters, memoranda, resolutions, and memoirs of some of the principal participants in the November 10, 1898 racially-motivated coup d'etat of Wilmington, NC.

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MS 130 A Communication by Mrs. Roger Moore

In her four page letter, which appeared to be directed to the local newspaper, the Wilmington Messenger, Mrs. Roger Moore took issue with an earlier story in the Elm City Mirror which had claimed that the leader of the "revolution of 1898 in Wilmington" was Colonel Alfred M. Waddell (1834-1912). According to Moore, the leaders were in fact her husband, Colonel Roger Moore and Doctor J. E. Matthews, and that Waddell was not informed of the movement's plans until after his election as Mayor.

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MS 132 Wilmington, North Carolina, 1898 Coup D'état (Newspapers)

This collection contains photocopies of issues of the Wilmington Daily Record, The Evening Dispatch, and fragments of the New York Journal around the time of and covering the Wilmington coup in 1898. The Journal makes explicit reference to the "riots" in Wilmington, gives the death toll as sixteen killed, and reprints the text of the Alex Manley editorial from the Record.

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MS 167 Dr. Heyward C. Bellamy Collection

The Dr. Heyward C. Bellamy Collection contains court documents and supporting exhibit materials outlining the school integration law suit, Carolyn Eaton, et al v New Hanover County Board of Education. In addition to the original Eaton case, this collection contains documents related to the restraining order the New Hanover County School Board filed against individuals who would later be implicated in the 1971 riots as part of the Wilmington Ten. This case is titled, Carolyn Eaton, et al v New Hanover County Board of Education v Ben Chavis, et al.

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MS 186 Bradley Jewett Wootten and Family Collection

This collection contains correspondence, photographs, newspaper articles and ephemera relating to life of Lt. Bradley Jewett Wootten from 1895 to his death in 1901. Most of the correspondence in this collection is between members of the Wootten family. Two such letters, copies of the originals, relay information from both before and after the events of November 10, 1898 in Wilmington.

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MS 217 1898 Foundation Papers

This collection contains materials created by the 1898 Foundation, Inc., formerly the 1898 Centennial Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on commemorating Wilmington’s 1898 coup d’état and massacre, as well as promoting community unity and fostering economic inclusion. Materials pertain to Foundation’s establishment, the programming and activities that reached a crescendo during the 1998 centennial, and the Foundation’s events following the centennial, which culminated in the dedication of 1898 Memorial Park in 2008.

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MS 323 Melton McLaurin Collection

The materials in this collection are from Dr. McLaurin's personal files, and consist of correspondence, research notes, newspaper clippings, photographs and tapes regarding the 1898 Centennial, Separate Pasts, Celia: A Slave, The Marines of Montford Point documentary, and the North Carolina State Fair. This collection contains both original and photocopied material. Collection not processed. See Special Collections staff for access.

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MS 342 Grainger Family Papers

Contains historical letters, deeds, and documents belonging to the Grainger family of Wilmington, NC, including deeds from Eagle Island and correspondence with American historian John Hope Franklin regarding the 1898 Wilmington race riot.

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MS 390 Bertha Boykin Todd Papers

This collection contains the papers of Bertha Boykin Todd, a long-time New Hanover County educator and community leader. It includes her biographical information and research, VHS tapes of her media appearances and recordings, newspaper articles about Todd or related to her work and community efforts, a North Carolina governor poster, speeches and related notes, and material related to her community and school involvement over the years--highlighting Williston (as the irst and last librarian), the Wilmington 10, school desegregation, and the 1898 Centennial Foundation and memorial.

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Special Collections Vertical Files

The Special Collections vertical files are compiled by Special Collections staff on an ongoing basis and contain material such as articles, photographs, maps, emphemera, etc. of various persons, places, organizations, and topical subjects related to UNCW and Southeastern North Carolina history.

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Wilmington, N.C. City Council Town Minutes (microfilm)

Copies of the Wilmington, N.C. City Council Town Minutes are available on microfilm at UNCW's Randally Library. Follow the link for information on access. For 1898 related content, please refer to the 1884-1898 and 1898-1911 reels.

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Primary Sources Held at Other Institutions

Louis T. Moore Collection (NHCPL)

Collection contains 976 photographs, mostly of New Hanover County and vicinity taken between 1921 and 1941 by Louis T. Moore to promote the Lower Cape Fear area.

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National Archives Material Relating to the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot

This document contains a transcription of National Archvives material related to the 1898 riot. Source: RG 60, General Records of the Department of Justice, Box 1117A "Year Files," 1887-1904, File 17743-1898. Note: This transcription of the letters includes misspellings and irregular punctuation. No attempt has been made to insert corrections. Transcribed August 2002, Dennis F. Daniels, North Carolina, Department of Archives and History.

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Dr. Robert M. Fales Collection

Digital collection held by the New Hanover County Public Library of historic Wilmington, including two original images from the day of the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898. Collection contains 1300 slides and original images from Dr. Robert Martin Fales (1907-1995), a local physician.

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Cape Fear Museum Digital Collection "Collier's Weekly" 1898

Flickr photo collection provided by the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science of newspaper headlines and clippings from Wilmington Messenger in 1898 during the "North Carolina Race War." Also contains a Collier's Weekly article from November 1898 written by coup leader Alfred Moore Waddell.

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Alex L. Manly Papers

Digitized collection of papers of Alex L. Manly, African-American newspaper editor of The Daily Record in Wilmington, North Carolina during the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898. Includes photographs, clippings, letter transcriptions, and interview with collection donor Milo A. Manly in 1984.

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George Rountree Papers

Collection of papers (1921-1925) consisting of correspondence, letters, social events, annual report copies, physician's bills, and corporation reports to stock holders from George Rountree. Rountree was a Wilmington, NC attorney, superior court judge, and state legislator.

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Louis T. Moore Collection, 1766-1950 (State Archives of NC)

Items collected by Moore, chairman of New Hanover Historical Commission, including an original of the London Chronicle, No. 1443 (Mar. 18-20, 1766) with news of Wilmington's resistance to the Stamp Act. Papers also contain newspaper clippings containing extracts (1774-1775) from letter book of William Hill, a Brunswick merchant, and typescript recollections of the Wilmington Coup of 1898 by editor Thomas W. Clawson.

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North Carolina Office of Archives and History

North Carolina has a long legacy of public history. Our state's historical program, founded in 1903, has evolved into what is now our Office of Archives and History (OAH). The agencies of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History celebrate history from pre-colonial times to the present. They collectively safeguard documentary and material evidence of earlier generations and provide leadership and assistance to government agencies, individuals, businesses and organizations to further the stewardship of the state's historic resources.

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North Carolina has a long legacy of public history. Our state's historical program, founded in 1903, has evolved into what is now our Office of Archives and History (OAH). The agencies of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History celebrate history from pre-colonial times to the present. They collectively safeguard documentary and material evidence of earlier generations and provide leadership and assistance to government agencies, individuals, businesses and organizations to further the stewardship of the state's historic resources. The following materials related to 1898 can be found here: --Manuscript minutes, Wilmington Board of Aldermen, November 10, 1898, State of North Carolina --Colonel Walker Taylor, "Reports on the Riots at Wilmington," Adjutant-General, State of North Carolina, November 22, 1898, documents No. 9 and 29.
Cronly Family Papers

The Cronly family included Michael Cronly, Sr., auctioneer and real estate broker of Wilmington, N.C. and his wife, Margaret McLaurin Cronly and their nine children. Collection includes correspondence, legal papers, financial papers, writings, account books, volumes, clippings and printed material. It ranges in date from 1806-1944. Includes a "race riot account" in Box 21 regarding the 1898 coup.

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Hugh MacRae Papers

This collection documents the business dealings of Hugh MacRae, specifically through the Carolina Trucking Development Company, MacRae and MacRae Attorneys, Hugh MacRae and Company, Oleander Development Company, and the Carolina Real Estate Trust Company. Collection materials include correspondence, ledgers, contracts, and deeds dated from 1940s-1970s. Also included are items related to the neighborhoods and farming colonies established by MacRae in southeastern North Carolina.

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Thomas W. Clawson Papers

Undated account (10 p.) of an eyewitness, Thomas W. Clawson, then city editor of the Wilmington (N.C.) "Messenger," of the Wilmington race riot of November 1898. Also included is a notarized copy of the editorial concerning southern womanhood by African American newspaper editor Alexander L. Manly, which was used by white supremacists to incite the riot.

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Alfred M. Waddell Papers

Documents the 1898 Wilmington Massacre and coup after which Waddell became mayor. Papers include correspondence, writings, speeches, manuscripts, and clippings.

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Marion Butler Papers, 1862-1938

Collection includes personal, political, and business correspondence and other papers of Marion Butler, chiefly 1890-1927. Butler was president of the North Carolina and National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, state and national Populist Party leader, member of the North Carolina Senate, a United States senator, 1895-1901, and Republican Party leader after 1904.

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Ruffin, Roulhac, and Hamilton Family

Ruffin, Roulac, and Hamilton family members resided chiefly in eastern and central North Carolina, but also in Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama. Prominent among them were Thomas Ruffin (1787-1870), Anne M. Kirkland Ruffin (b. 1794), Joseph Blount Gregoire Roulhac (1795-1856), Catherine Ruffin Roulhac (b. 1810), and Daniel Heyward Hamilton, Jr. (b. 1838). The collection includes correspondence, financial and legal papers, account books, photographs, and other items, chiefly 1823-1890, relating to members of the Ruffin, Roulhac, and Hamilton families and their friends and associates.

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Bennehan Cameron Papers

Collection of correspondence, financial papers, account books, and other documents of Bennehan Cameron, planter, railroad executive, industrialist, and promoter of good roads, of Durham County and Raleigh, N.C. Papers dated 1866-1962.

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D.I. Craig Papers

Primary source accounts of Wilmington massacre and coup from D.I. Craig.

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John S. Henderson Papers 1755-1945, 1962

The collection includes letters, financial and legal papers, and other items of John S. Henderson, Democratic Party politician, member of the North Carolina General Assembly, United States congressman, lawyer, and a founder of rural free delivery of the mail, and members of the Henderson and related families. Contains 1898 correspondence commenting on the racial situation in Wilmington and the coup. Items from the 1820s and 1830s chiefly relate to Archibald Henderson's plantation business dealings.

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Henry G. Connor Papers

Collection of correspondence to and from Henry G. Connor (1852-1924), a lawyer, legislator, bank president, and judge of Wilson, NC. The papers reflect the views of a conservative Democrat active in the affairs of his state for many years.

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John Henry William Bonitz Papers, 1863-1973

John Henry William Bonitz was a German immigrant who came to Goldsboro, NC, in 1859. He married Mary Stegner (1845-1921), also a German immigrant, in 1862, and moved to Wilmington, NC, in 1887. He was proprietor, with his brother Julius, of the Goldsboro, NC, Messenger and the Wilmington, NC, Messenger newspapers, a hotel, and a farm. The collection includes three scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings of columns written 1902-1912 by Bonitz and his wife, Mary, concerning past days, 1859-1887, in Goldsboro; clippings, mainly 1891-1912, of similar columns by J. M.

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Southern Oral History Program

This collection, housed in the Southern Historical Collection of the UNC Center for the Study of the American South, contains more than 5,000 oral histories. The Southern Oral History Program Interview Database provides detailed descriptions of the interviews in the Southern Oral History Program Collection. The interviews in this collection were conducted or collected under the auspices of the Southern Oral History Program in the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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The Struggle for White Supremacy in North Carolina

Thesis by Evelyn Underwood, 1943.

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The Fight for the Constitutional Convention: The Development of Political Parties in North Carolina During 1867

Thesis by Stephen Marc Appell, 1969.

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North Carolina Collection, Wilson Library

The North Carolina Collection is dedicated to preserving literary, visual, and artifactual materials illustrating four centuries of the colony and state of North Carolina. The collection comprises three divisions: the Research Library, North Carolina Collection Gallery, and Photographic Archives.

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The North Carolina Collection is dedicated to preserving literary, visual, and artifactual materials illustrating four centuries of the colony and state of North Carolina. The collection comprises three divisions: the Research Library, North Carolina Collection Gallery, and Photographic Archives. The following material related to 1898 can be found here: --Report of the Commanding Officer of Naval Battalion, Headquarters, N.C. Naval Battalion, Wilmington, NC, Dec 1, 1898, Reports on the Riot at Wilmington, November 22, 1898, North Carolina Public Documents, Document No. 9, North Carolina Collection, UNC Chapel Hill --"The Democratic Handbook," 1898. Prepared by the State Democratic Executive Committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party, State Executive Committtee, Raleigh: Edwards and Broughton, 1898, North Carolina Collection, UNC Chapel Hill --Minutes of the Organizational Meeting of the Association of Members of the Wilmington Light Infantry, Lumina, Wrightsville Beach, December 14, 1905, North Carolina Collection, UNC Chapel Hill
Edward Bell Price Papers

Correspondence, works, and other items related to Edward Price Bell's career as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Daily News and roving correspondent for the Literary Digest. Bell covered major stories such as the Chippewa Native American Uprising in Minnesota, the Wilmington Coup of 1898, and others.

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Dissertations/Theses

The following dissertations and theses are available directly through the UNCW catalog. Please check the Additional Resources section for material accessible through other databases or organizations.
The Wilmington Riots of November 10, 1898
F263.5 .M32 1963
Jerome A. McDuffie, 1963
The Wilmington Riot of November 10, 1898
F263.5 .G45 1973
Michael L. Glancy, 1973
Josephus Daniels, Precipitator of the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898
F263.5 .H62 1990
Alexander Weld Hodges, 1990

Newspapers

Linked here are newspaper databases and digitized newspaper collections with significant material applicable to 1898. Please note that coverage of the coup was broad and widely reported in multiple regional and national newspapers. The below are a list of Wilmington and North Carolina newspapers, historical and current, but please refer to related bibliographies, such as in David Zucchino's Wilmington's Lie, for additional sources:

  • Wilmington, NC
    • Cape-Fear Recorder
    • The Daily Dispatch
    • The Daily Journal
    • The Daily Record
    • The Evening Dispatch
    • The Morning Star
    • The Record
    • Semi-Weekly Messenger
    • Wilmington Daily Post
    • Wilmington Evening Dispatch
    • Wilmington Herald
    • Wilmington Messenger
    • Wilmington Post
    • Wilmington Star
    • Wilmington Star-News
  • North Carolina
    • Charlotte Daily Observer
    • Charlotte Observer
    • Fayetteville Observer
    • Morning Post, Raleigh, NC
    • New Berne Daily Journal
    • North Carolina Times
    • Raleigh Gazette
    • Raleigh Register
    • Raleigh Sentinel
    • Union-Republican, Winston-Salem, NC
    • Weekly Standard, Raleigh, NC
The Daily Record (Wilmington, NC)

The Daily Record was an African American paper that figured prominently in the Wilmington Riot and Coup d’etat of 1898. Very few issues are known to remain; in partnership with the Cape Fear Museum and UNC-Chapel Hill, The North Carolina Digital Heritage Center has shared those remaining issues here. You can also read more about a project to assemble quotes from the Record found in other newspapers of the era at The Wilmington Daily Record Project.

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The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)

Editions of The News & Observer from 1898 are available on microfilm at UNCW's Randall Library. Please follow the link for information on accessing these.

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Historic North Carolina Digital Newspaper Collection

Find historical newspapers from across the United States and beyond. Explore newspaper articles and clippings for help with genealogy, history and other research. 5,100+ newspapers from the 1700s–2000s.

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Find historical newspapers from across the United States and beyond. Explore newspaper articles and clippings for help with genealogy, history and other research. 5,100+ newspapers from the 1700s–2000s. For local 1898 newspapers, reference The Wilmington Messenger, The Wilmington Morning Star, and the Wilmington Dispatch.
The Wilmington Journal Collection, 1953-1977

This collection contains copies of the local, weekly African-American newspaper, The Wilmington Journal, which was founded in Wilmington, N.C. in 1901. Thirteen digital copies are included here--twelve before the paper's burning in 1971 and one after. The New Hanover County Public Library has microfilmed copies from 1974 to 1982, available at the North Carolina Room of the downtown branch. Original physical copies, from 1983 through the present, are also available at the library.

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This collection contains copies of the local, weekly African-American newspaper, The Wilmington Journal, which was founded in Wilmington, N.C. in 1901. Thirteen digital copies are included here--twelve before the paper's burning in 1971 and one after. The New Hanover County Public Library has microfilmed copies from 1974 to 1982, available at the North Carolina Room of the downtown branch. Original physical copies, from 1983 through the present, are also available at the library. Relevant material speaks to post-1898 incidents and relations.
Historical Black Newspapers

This collection of historical black newspapers provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time. Publications include:

  • The Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988)
  • Chicago Defender (1909-1975)
  • Michigan Chronicle (1934-2010)
  • New York Amsterdam News (1922 - 1993)
  • Norfolk Journal and Guide (1916-2003)
  • Pittsburgh Courier (1911 - 2002)
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This collection of historical black newspapers provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time. Of significance for 1898 is The Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988).
African American Newspapers Series 1

Chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience, African American Newspapers, Series 1, features 280 newspapers from 35 states, including many rare and historically significant 19th-century titles. These titles published for or by African Americans constitute valuable primary sources for researchers exploring such diverse disciplines as cultural, literary and social history; ethnic studies and more.

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African American Newspapers Series 2

African American Newspapers, Series 2, 1835-1956 complements and expands on African American Newspapers, Series 1. Published in 22 states and the District of Columbia, the more than 75 newly available newspapers in Series 2 significantly increase access to primary sources for researchers across African and African American studies; political science; ethnic studies; diaspora studies; women’s studies; and cultural, literary and social history.

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Historical Newspapers

This collection of historical newspapers provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time. Includes:

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Chicago Newspapers (Chicago Public Library)

Provides online access and microfilms of numerous Chicago newspapers from 1849 to present.

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Additional Resources

The following resources and published works are not available through Randall Library. Please seek external sources for access and further information.

  • Black Reconstruction: An Essay Toward a History of the Past Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860-1880 by W.E. Burghardt Du Bois, 1935
  • The Negro in North Carolina, Politics Since Reconstruction by William Alexander Mabry, 1940
  • A Journal of the McKinley Years by Charles G. Dawes, 1950
  • Sand Against the Wind: The Memoirs of John C. Dancy by John C. Dancy, 1966
  • Southern Racial Politics & North Carolina’s Black Vote by Val Atkinson, 2007
  • "Devoted to the Interests of His Race: Black Officeholders and the Political Culture of Freedom in Wilmington, North Carolina, 1865-1877" by Thanayi Jackson, 2016 - accessible via ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
Wilmington Massacre and Coup d'etat of 1898 - Timeline of Events

Created by the Cape Fear Museum in collaboration with the New Hanover County Public Library and Information Technology department, this map and timeline allows users to explore the context and history of the 1898 coup beginning with Emancipation and ending with the election of the first African American city council member in 1972. 

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Understanding 1898: America's Only Coup D'Etat (WHQR)

Provides interviews and information on the Wilmington Coup of 1898.

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The Ghosts of 1898: Wilmington's Race Riot and the Rise of White Supremacy

This page features an in-depth and comprehensive article on the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot by Timothy B. Tyson, published in The News & Observer in November 2006. It explains both the events that led to the riot and the impact it had on national race relations, as well as its continuing legacy.

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Missing Chapter (Vox): When White Supremacists Overthrew A Government

YouTube video from Vox on the 1898 Wilmington Coup in which a mob of 2000 white men violently expelled elected black and white political leaders, destroyed the property of black residents, and killed dozens, if not more.

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Cape Fear Unearthed: Unearthing 1898, Part 1-3 (Star News)

"Unearthing 1898" is a three-part series and thorough examination of the tragic events of the Wilmington Coup of 1898, with the help of a host of experts that have researched and written about one of the most singularly defining moments in Wilmington history. These include LeRae Umfleet, lead researcher for the state's commission on 1898 and author of "A Day of Blood;" Jan Davidson, historian for the Cape Fear Museum; Chris E.

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CoastLine: David Zucchino, Author of Wilmington's Lie (WHQR)

How does this bloody coup, which took place more than a century ago, impact Wilmington, the Cape Fear region, North Carolina – and even other parts of the American South today?  Is white supremacy still alive and well in the Port City?

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Politics of a Massacre: Discovering Wilmington 1898

This website, produced at East Carolina University, offers an archival resource for some of the most significant documents, images, and links related to the only known coup d’etat in the history of the United States. Visitors will notice three dropdown menu items, at the top menu bar. Each offers documents related to the “Rising Tension” after the Civil War, “1898” the year of the riot, and the “Legacy” of the riot. Click on any item, and then navigate the subtopics to discover the wealth of archival material available here. Each item contains a few surprises.

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Criminal podcast, Episode 158: “If it ever happens, run.”

Criminal podcast host Phoebe Judge interviews Wilmington native and historian Cynthina Brown about her great-grandmother, Althalia Howe. Howe grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina in the late 1890s.

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Oral Histories

To explore more interviews, please search the Oral History Collection.

Interview with Melton McLaurin (Oral History)

In this oral history interview, Melton McLaurin discusses his career in academics. Dr. McLaurin was hired as chair of the UNCW history department, a position that he held until 1991. He discusses the department during this time of growth at the university, the beginning of the graduate program in history, his teaching, and his research. In 1996 Dr. McLaurin became associate vice-chancellor for academic affairs. Although he retired in 2002, he continued his association with the university, serving in various roles.

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Southern Oral History Program

This collection, housed in the Southern Historical Collection of the UNC Center for the Study of the American South, contains more than 5,000 oral histories. The Southern Oral History Program Interview Database provides detailed descriptions of the interviews in the Southern Oral History Program Collection. The interviews in this collection were conducted or collected under the auspices of the Southern Oral History Program in the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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This collection, housed in the Southern Historical Collection of the UNC Center for the Study of the American South, contains more than 5,000 oral histories. The Southern Oral History Program Interview Database provides detailed descriptions of the interviews in the Southern Oral History Program Collection. Digital transcripts and audio for many interviews are available through this database created and maintained by the University Library at UNC Chapel Hill. Analog audio recordings, paper transcripts, and supplementary files are available through the Southern Historical Collection in the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library at UNC Chapel Hill. Specific to 1898 is an interview with “Mrs. B,” a native of Wilmington, N.C., from 1978, as part of the "B.2.2. Individual Biographies: Special Focus: Racial Violence in Wilmington, N.C." project.

Subject Headings

Subject headings are a specific word or phrase used to find and organize cataloged material, like books or articles, by topic. Below are suggested Library of Congress subject headings to aid in furthering your search for related 1898 materials:

African Americans – North Carolina – Wilmington -- History

African Americans – Political activity – North Carolina 

Aycock, Charles B. (Charles Brantley), 1859-1912

Bellamy, John Dillard, 1853-1942

Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948

Felton, Rebecca Latimer, 1835-1930

MacRae, Hugh, 1865-1951

Manly, Alex

Matthews, J. E., Dr. (John Edwards), 1844-1919

Moore, Roger, Colonel, 1838-1900

North Carolina – Politics and government – 1865-1950 

Simmons, Furnifold M. (Furnifold McLendel), 1854-1940

Tillman, Benjamin R. (Benjamin Ryan), 1847-1918

Waddell, Alfred M. (Alfred Moore), 1834-1912

Wilmington (N.C.) -- Race relations

Wilmington (N.C.) -- History – 19th century

Wilmington Race Riot, Wilmington, N.C. 1898

Contact Librarian

Portrait of Rebecca Baugnon
Rebecca
Baugnon
Special Collections Librarian
Email: 
baugnonr@uncw.edu
Phone Number: 
(910) 962-7462
Office: 
RL2042J

Contact Staff

Portrait of Nicole Yatsonsky
Nicole
Yatsonsky
Library Specialist
Email: 
yatsonskyn@uncw.edu
Phone Number: 
(910) 962-3412
Office: 
RL2042J

Related Special Collections Subject Guides

Politics in Southeast North Carolina
The Civil Rights Movement in Southeast North Carolina
The Wilmington Ten of 1971

Previously Held 1898 Events

These archived links include information about past 1898-focused events held locally in the Wilmington area. These events were put on by various organizations, such as UNC Wilmington, Thalian Hall, local Black community groups, and regional media such as WHQR and the Star News.

The Legacy of Historical Trauma and Racism in Wilmington: Promoting Resilience and Healing (UNCW)

Virtual Cultural Arts Performance and Panel Discussion, Wednesday November 11, 2020, 7-9 p.m.

Join us to better understand Wilmington’s unique history and the impact of historical and racial trauma existent today. Students, faculty, helping professionals, educators and community members are encouraged to attend. We cannot move forward until we are honest about where we have been.

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(Virtual) Prologue: "Wilmington's Lie" by David Zucchino, November 9th (WHQR)

On Monday, November 9th host Ben Steelman of The Star News will sit down (virtually) with author David Zucchino to discuss his book "Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy." Presented by WHQR.

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Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.: Special Tour: Thalian Hall 1865-1898

Tue., Nov. 10, 2020 at 11:00 AM ( Mon., Nov. 9, 2020 - Wed., Nov. 11, 2020 )

Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St., Wilmington, NC 28401-4020

Program

Join Executive\Artistic Director and local historian Tony Rivenbark for an honest discussion of Thalian Hall’s role as it relates to race relations and social unrest in the years leading up to 1898. Thalian Hall and City Hall have always played a key role in the community of Wilmington as both the political and artistic hub of the city, and especially so in the late 19th century.

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Wilmington On Fire: Screening + Q&A \ Nov. 10 (kweliTV)

Join us for a live screening of the award-winning documentary, WILMINGTON ON FIRE, followed by a lively Q&A with director Christopher Everett. Streaming live on kweliTV!

Synopsis: A heavily armed white mob launches a violent attack against African Americans on Nov. 10, 1898, in Wilmington, NC.

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‘The Front Lines’ Sunday Film Screening (Black on Black Project)

Join the Black On Black Project at DREAMs of Wilmington for two special screenings of the new short film “The Front Lines,” which looks at some of the history of Wilmington, N.C. Through poetry and dance, the film begins to unpack the 1865 Battle of Forks Road, the 1898 Massacre and the 1971 Wilmington Ten case.

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1898 Wilmington Massacre and Coup D'etat Observance, Part 1-2

A two part, virtual event covering the events of 1898 into present day on November 9-10, 2020. Part 1 covers Reverend J.

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