In 1860, just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, Wilmington was majority black and it was also the largest city in the state of North Carolina, with a population of nearly 10,000. Numerous enslaved laborers and

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In late 1897, nine prominent Wilmington men were unhappy with what they called "Negro Rule". They were particularly aggrieved about Fusion government reforms that affected their

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Most blacks and many Republicans did not vote in the November 8 election, hoping to avoid violence, as Red Shirts had blocked every road leading in and out of the city, and drove

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Wilmington
The coup was deemed a "success" for the business elite, with The Charlotte Observer quoting a prominent

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"Race riot"
On November 26, 1898, Collier's Weeklypublished an article in which Waddell wrote about the government overthrow. The article, "The Story of

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• Charles W. Chesnutt's novel, The Marrow of Tradition(1901), addressed the rise of white supremacists in North Carolina and described a fictional account of a riot in a city based on Wilmington;

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When Waddell and the Committee did not receive a response by 7:30 a.m. on November 10 (it is unclear when Waddell checked his mailbox), about 45 minutes later, he gathered about 500 white businessmen and veterans to Wilmington's armory. After heavily

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