“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” : SHERIFF PETER CROSBY

It was reported that General Ulysses S Grant wrote in his Personal Memoirs, “The fate of the Confederacy was sealed when Vicksburg fell, and the Confederate military forces surrendered in Vicksburg,Mississippi on July 4, 1863.” Peter Crosby was born in 1844, and lived twenty years in Clark County, Mississippi. In 1864, he moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi and enlisted in the U.S.Army. At the age of 20, he became a member of the US Colored Troops in Company C, 5th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery. From 1864 - 1873, Young Crosby accumulated over $5,000 worth of land and was noted as being a prosperous member of the city of Vicksburg, not bad for an ex-slave! Additionally,Peter was part of a Negro political group called the “Vicksburg Ring” that regulated the city politics of Vicksburg. In 1873, he was elected Sheriff of Warren County, which included Vicksburg, and that didn’t sit well with many of the White citizens in town. Yet,the White citizens waited until December of 1874 to officially get Peter to resign his position as Sheriff. At gun point they had him sign a letter of resignation. He did so, but he also sent for help from the federal government. However, several Black men weren’t for waiting on the federal government to send help. Armed with guns, they went down to the city courthouse to make Peter Sheriff again! Sadly, that would be the day of the “Wild Vicksburg Massacre,” where 50 - 300 Black People ended up being killed. Eventually, federal troops arrived to restore the peace and reinstate Peter to his rightful position as Sheriff of Vicksburg. Unfortunately, this didn’t sit well with the White citizens either. So, the White People of Vicksburg hired a White deputy and forced Peter to work with him. The deputy’s name was J.P. Gilmer. Lastly, in 1875, the local White League, a White supremacist organization, falsely accused Vicksburg’s Black leaders of corruption. They vowed to “Make America Great Again” by removing Negro officeholders from their positions of power. The White League was smart enough to know that as long as local Black citizens “VOTED” and “CONTINUED TO OWN” LARGE AMOUNTS OF LAND, they posed a “THREAT” to White political and economic supremacy! Also, along with having to put up with a Negro as Sheriff, the White citizens were not happy seeing Negroes acquiring large amounts of property in Vicksburg and gaining “economic control” of the city. Therefore, on June 7, 1875, Peter’s White deputy, J.P. Gilmer shot him in the head. Gilmer was arrested for attempted murder but never brought to trial. Although Peter survived the murder attempt on his life, he never made a full recovery from it.. Nevertheless, he was allowed to finish out his term as Sheriff, but a White citizen was appointed to assist him. Peter lost his bid for re-election, and wasn’t able to do much after then. On March 15, 1884 ,Peter Crosby died in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Even though he was only 40 years old when he died, he left behind a great legacy for future generations of Black People to admire! In Closing, it appears to me that tactics similar to the intimidation and violence tactics utilized by White Mississippians with the intent on “restoring white supremacy” back in 1875 are now starting to reappear here in Louisiana. Furthermore,I feel that it’s time for the Black Leaders and Black Citizens of Louisiana to awaken from their sleep and unite & organize, before what happened in 1875 happens again!