Hamburg massacre marks 150th anniversary of South Carolina violence

The 150th anniversary of the July 1876 Hamburg massacre in South Carolina marks a significant moment in U.S. history. The violence began during a dispute between a local Black militia and two white citizens regarding a Fourth of July parade.

Following a court hearing for militia leader Doc Adams, a white supremacist group known as the Red Shirts pursued the retreating Black militia. After a firefight, the Red Shirts captured and executed at least four Black militiamen. Despite descriptions from then-Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain as a “butchery of unoffending and unarmed colored men,” no one was convicted for the attack.

Historians note that several ringleaders of the Red Shirts eventually rose to high political offices in the state. The massacre is viewed by researchers as a seminal event that altered the trajectory of African American history, ushering in a century of repression and inequality.