bookboarder
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Like most folks around here, I'd never heard the story of the Thibodaux massacre before a very close family friend [more family than friend]. It is a horrific, dark secret hidden by time, overshadowed by hurricanes and other tragic events that have occurred in Louisiana.
I wanted to reach out to our awesome Websleuths community about this very important piece of unsolved and unknown history. If anyone can help find more information and clues about this case, it's this community of talented sleuthers.
I let him know about Websleuths and he’s very interested in joining and participating with regards to the case researched in his book. He’s a great writer; has more than one Pulitzer prize and an even greater friend and a victim’s advocate long after they’ve been forgotten.
Anyway, the book is called “The Thibodaux Massacre” and it is about a massacre of up to 300 African-American plantation workers who were slaughtered with their families in the late 1800s. The crime lasted over 3 hours and the assassins were actually law enforcement. They killed these workers for being on a labor strike due to the conditions and low pay on the sugar plantations. They murdered whole families who were peacefully with their loved ones. They went into homes and brutally murdered these people. Even shooting people hiding under houses.
eta: My MIL mentioned 300 dead but John says his estimates are between 30-60 deaths. He does say there are claims of up to 300 murdered in this crime but they cannot be substantiated by hard evidence at this time.
The mystery has been vaguely whispered about and covered up for many years in the region. I never knew of it until John wrote the book. He investigated the case himself and via the records of one veteran black man’s pension from the civil war [fighting with the union for his freedom] and was able to unearth the startling and disturbing details of this case previously hidden in the shadows.
The mystery is now giving these innocent victims of this terrifying crime names and…. Finding where they were buried. A far as he was able to find, the bodies of the victims were dumped in a mass grave which now sits under the Thibodaux, LA VFW Hall. This site is suspected after John’s tireless research and efforts. They are currently trying to raise money to have ground penetrating radar used to check the site as it is quite costly.
This case needs to be known and recognized as a tragic part of our past. It is one of the most horrific crimes in our country’s history and demands attention. In fact, I believe that this should be taught in school as a part of history throughout the country. What my friend has uncovered through firsthand research with original documentation is an absolutely stunning and grotesque tale of horror.
We owe these victims to at least hear their story so that they can regain their humanity.
My friend’s website is http://www.johndesantis.org
Twitter ishttps://twitter.com/bayouscribe
FB ishttps://www.facebook.com/desantis.john
He writes for the newspaper here and has actually written several articles about our family-- apparently he finds us intriguing. He’s always with us for the holidays and he’s an even greater friend than storyteller [which is saying quite a lot!]. We actually consider him family. My husband has known him since his teens [he’s 41 now] and I’ve known him over 10 years.
I wanted to reach out to our awesome Websleuths community about this very important piece of unsolved and unknown history. If anyone can help find more information and clues about this case, it's this community of talented sleuthers.
I let him know about Websleuths and he’s very interested in joining and participating with regards to the case researched in his book. He’s a great writer; has more than one Pulitzer prize and an even greater friend and a victim’s advocate long after they’ve been forgotten.
Anyway, the book is called “The Thibodaux Massacre” and it is about a massacre of up to 300 African-American plantation workers who were slaughtered with their families in the late 1800s. The crime lasted over 3 hours and the assassins were actually law enforcement. They killed these workers for being on a labor strike due to the conditions and low pay on the sugar plantations. They murdered whole families who were peacefully with their loved ones. They went into homes and brutally murdered these people. Even shooting people hiding under houses.
eta: My MIL mentioned 300 dead but John says his estimates are between 30-60 deaths. He does say there are claims of up to 300 murdered in this crime but they cannot be substantiated by hard evidence at this time.
The mystery has been vaguely whispered about and covered up for many years in the region. I never knew of it until John wrote the book. He investigated the case himself and via the records of one veteran black man’s pension from the civil war [fighting with the union for his freedom] and was able to unearth the startling and disturbing details of this case previously hidden in the shadows.
The mystery is now giving these innocent victims of this terrifying crime names and…. Finding where they were buried. A far as he was able to find, the bodies of the victims were dumped in a mass grave which now sits under the Thibodaux, LA VFW Hall. This site is suspected after John’s tireless research and efforts. They are currently trying to raise money to have ground penetrating radar used to check the site as it is quite costly.
This case needs to be known and recognized as a tragic part of our past. It is one of the most horrific crimes in our country’s history and demands attention. In fact, I believe that this should be taught in school as a part of history throughout the country. What my friend has uncovered through firsthand research with original documentation is an absolutely stunning and grotesque tale of horror.
We owe these victims to at least hear their story so that they can regain their humanity.
My friend’s website is http://www.johndesantis.org
Twitter ishttps://twitter.com/bayouscribe
FB ishttps://www.facebook.com/desantis.john
He writes for the newspaper here and has actually written several articles about our family-- apparently he finds us intriguing. He’s always with us for the holidays and he’s an even greater friend than storyteller [which is saying quite a lot!]. We actually consider him family. My husband has known him since his teens [he’s 41 now] and I’ve known him over 10 years.