Editing St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (section)

===1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre===

In 1868, St. Bernard Parish was home to one of the deadliest massacres in Louisiana history. The St. Bernard Parish massacre occurred during the [[Reconstruction era]], days before the [[Presidential election of 1868]]. As black men gained the right to vote, white Democrats of the parish feared losing their majority. Armed groups mobilized to violently silence these recently emancipated voters to win the election in favor of Democrat [[Horatio Seymour]] over Republican [[Ulysses S. Grant]]. A Seymour victory meant the end of Reconstruction over the South and the return of Louisiana to home rule. Many freedmen were dragged from their homes and murdered. Others fled to the cane fields to hide from the perpetrators.

The use of violence to suppress Republican votes was successful. Grant only received one vote from St. Bernard Parish, despite having a Republican majority. The reported number of freedmen killed varies from 35 to 135; the number of whites killed was two (one was killed in an attempt to help the victims).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dier |first1=Chris |title=The 1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre: Blood in the Cane Fields |date=2017 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-1540227010}}</ref>