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Following Emancipation, federal Union soldiers arrived in Millican, along with the Freedmen's Bureau, to assist in the transition to Reconstruction. At the same time, the Ku Klux Klan first appeared in Millican, parading through Black neighborhoods and threatening violence. In response, many of the Freedmen armed themselves. Under the leadership of Reverend George Edwin Brooks, a former enslaved person and the African American community's pastor, the community organized the Freedmen's Milita Unit to protect their families and homes, growing to more than 100 members within weeks.
On July 15, 1868, a rumor spread that freedman Miles Brown was lynched on the farm of Andrew Holliday. The Freedmen's Militia Unit assembled under Harry Thomas to find Brown. News of this action reached Millican, and mayor G.A. Wheat and deputy sheriff Patillo formed a posse and headed to the Holliday farm. The two groups met at a bend in the road and shots rang out. Harry Thomas and two other Black men were killed instantly and others wounded.
With tensions high, the mayor issued a call for able-bodied men in the county to set up a blockade, which drew in hundreds from nearby towns. Due to false reports of armed Black men and fear within the White community, violence and murder ensued. The body of Rev. Brooks was found on July 25, and he was buried near Brooks Chapel A.M.E. Church. Newspapers reported that as many as 70 African Americans were killed during this two-month period in Millican, but accounts varied, and the full number may never be known. Despite the danger and uncertainty, many families remained in the Brazos Valley, while others fled to safer conditions. The events affected the area for years to come, in what is considered the worst incident of racial violence in Texas during Reconstruction. (2017) |
