DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this story, and tonight I'm passing it on to you the way it deserves to be told. George Webster Smith was born in New York in 1841, moved to Michigan early in his life, and when the Civil War broke out, he went and joined his uncles in the 123rd Regiment of the New York Infantry. A young man from up north, fighting in a Union uniform — and when the war was over, you might think that'd be the end of it.
But for George Webster Smith, the war's end was really just the beginning of something far more dangerous. He moved with an uncle to Jefferson, Texas. Jefferson — a prosperous East Texas river town, and in the years just after the war, a place wound tight as a watch spring.
Smith arrived and did not keep quiet. He acquired a reputation as an ardent Republican and threw himself into local Reconstruction efforts headfirst. He served on the voter registration board for Marion County, a board responsible for disenfranchising former Confederates.
He was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1868 and to the state Republican convention that same year. In a town full of men who'd worn gray, George Webster Smith was making himself very, very conspicuous. Then came 1868, and an argument with a man named Colonel R.
P. Crump. That dispute escalated into a shooting incident — two members of Crump's party were wounded.
Now, whatever you think of how things got to that point, here's what happened next: Smith surrendered. He gave himself up and was placed in the calaboose, the city jail right here, which had opened in 1867. The mayor himself assured Smith he would be protected.
Guards were posted. October 4th. Evening falls over Jefferson.
A group of about seventy disguised men showed up at that jail. Seventy. They disarmed the guards — and then they assassinated George Webster Smith, along with two freedmen.
Let that land for a moment. The murders did not go unnoticed by the wider world. Jefferson was placed under martial law.
The mayor and some other officials were replaced. In 1869, twenty-three men were brought to trial. Three were convicted of murder and sentenced to life terms.
Others were convicted on lesser charges. The organization to which many of the accused belonged was called the Knights of the Rising Sun. And here is what the marker says about what Smith's death ultimately meant: it was a symbol of the deep and often violent racial divide in Texas after the Civil War.
It marked the beginning of federal troop withdrawal from Jefferson. And it marked the end of the terror brought about by the Knights of the Rising Sun. A man came south looking to help rebuild a broken country.
He surrendered peacefully. The mayor promised him safety. Seventy men decided otherwise.
And somehow, out of that terrible night, came the unraveling of the very organization that carried it out. George Webster Smith, 1841. Jefferson, Texas.
Remember the name.
What the marker says
George Webster Smith was a former Union soldier whose beliefs set off a chain of dramatic events in the tense atmosphere of post-Civil War Texas. Born in New York in 1841, Smith moved to Michigan early in his life. When the Civil War started, he joined his uncles in the 123rd Regiment of the New York Infantry. After the Civil War, Smith moved with an uncle to Jefferson, where he acquired a reputation as an ardent Republican and became heavily involved in local Reconstruction efforts. Smith became active in politics, serving as a member of the voter registration board for Marion County, which was responsible for disenfranchising former Confederates. He was also elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1868, as well as the state Republican convention the same year. It was in 1868 that Smith became embroiled in an argument with Colonel R.P. Crump. This dispute led to a shooting incident in which two members of Crump’s party were wounded. Smith surrendered and was placed at this site in the calaboose, the city jail which opened in 1867. The mayor assured him he would be protected by guards, but on the evening of October 4, a group of about 70 disguised men disarmed the guards and assassinated Smith, as well as two freedmen. Because of the murders, the city of Jefferson came under martial law, and some officials, including the mayor, were replaced. Twenty-three men were brought to trial in 1869, with three convicted of murder and sentenced to life terms, and other convicted of lesser charges. Smith’s death was noteworthy as a symbol of the deep and often violent racial divide in Texas after the Civil War, and as the event that marked both the beginning of federal troop withdrawal from Jefferson and the end of the terror brought about by the Knights of the Rising Sun, the organization to which many of the accused belonged. (2006)