Capt. William L. Grayson and The Darien Incident

“Georgia was convulsed by racial violence during the spring and summer of 1899. The frenzied two-week long search for Sam Holt, a black man who had allegedly committed rape and murder, set the tone for the rest of the year. . . .When a huge mob tortured, mutilated, and burned Holt to death in Coweta County, banner headlines and gruesome illustrations blazoned the news across the state. ” –W. F. Brundage, The Darien “Insurrection” of 1899

Postbellum Life along the Georgia Sea Islands

The massive rice growing operations and sea-island cotton plantations in the 18th and 19th centuries in coastal Georgia were necessarily driven into deep decline following the Civil War. The loss of free labor, competition from other regions, damaged railroads and infrastructure, unrealized expectations of “40 acres and a mule” for every former slave, and carpetbagging northerners of both races in influential government positions put strains on the traditional racial and economic caste system in the so-called “Golden Isles.”

The Darien Insurrection

The town of Darien is the seat of McIntosh County Georgia, and is located on the Altamaha River Delta about an hour from both Jacksonville to the south and Savannah to the north. It was an important interim port, as steamboats brought goods from the inland cities of Macon and Milledgeville, the latter then the State Capital. Darien was burned in 1863 by Union troops that included African-American soldiers – Robert Gould Shaw‘s 54th Massachusetts of particular note, as depicted in the 1989 film Glory.  In the 1890’s the population of McIntosh County was about 80% African-American, most trying to make a living as farmers, day laborers, in sawmills, or on the waters. Following the highly publicized Sam Holt manhunt and lynching Matilda Ann Hope, a married white woman who lived several miles north of Darien, gave birth to a mulatto child. She accused a neighbor, Henry Delegale, of having raped her the previous winter. Delegale, a well-respected citizen, surrendered to Sheriff Thomas Blount, a wise precaution for any black man accused of assaulting a white person. The newspapers of the time suggested that Matilda was not of the best character, and that her accusation was likely an attempt to save face and reputation.

On August 22, 1899, the sheriff decided to move Delegale to Savannah for safekeeping. Blount’s motive for this decision is unknown, later events notwithstanding. What was common knowledge was, in the words of the Savannah Morning News of August 24, 1899, “To the average negro of McIntosh County ‘safekeeping’ meant death to the accused on a swinging limb somewhere between Darien and Savannah.” It was no surprise, then, that the friends and neighbors of Henry Delegale organized and gathered outside the jail to prevent the intended transfer. After a few unsuccessful attempts, and with as many as 100 black men surrounding the jail, many armed, Blount called the Governor to request troops.*

The Georgia Volunteers

Our great-grandfather William L. Grayson (1870-1941) was the only child of a working-class Savannah family. His father was a engine mechanic/machinist and his mother kept house. William himself worked as a a produce merchant and life-insurance agent as a younger man, before rising to some local prominence. William joined the Georgia Militia at age 16, an expected rite of passage for young men of the time. The martial pride of Savannah was evident in periodic civic parades and other gatherings in the ornate uniforms and close-order drills of the various militia units like the Chatham Artillery, the Irish Jasper Greens, the Georgia Hussars, the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, and others whose predecessors had served honorably in various battles from the Revolutionary War to the U.S. Civil War just a generation earlier. William served as a private soldier and later as a non-commissioned officer with the Republican Blues. When the U.S. declared War with Spain in 1898, the Georgia Volunteers entered into intense training and William Grayson was commissioned a First Lieutenant and subsequently elected Captain of Republican Blues Company “M,”  First Georgia Infantry.

 Answering the Governor’s Call

Capt. Grayson served under Col. Alexander R. Lawton, Jr., a railway executive and the son of a Confederate general. William was one of five officers commanding the two hundred men of the First Infantry who raced by rail to Darien to answer the call of the governor. At dusk on August 23, “With bayonets fixed and rifles loaded,” wrote historian W. Fitzhugh Brundage, “the troops faced the large crowd of blacks that met the train. Although many blacks brandished shotguns and pistols, they made no effort to interfere with the troops.” The local district Superior Court judge gave an impromptu speech to the assembled men indicating that the troops would take charge of the prisoner. “His audience, now assured that Delegale would not be lynched while in transit to Savannah, erupted in applause and celebration,” wrote Brundage. A small guard of Militia departed by train with Henry, while Col. Lawton, Capt. Grayson, and the bulk of the troops spent an uneventful night in Darien. When Capt. Grayson and the men of the First Georgia Infantry returned to Savannah the following day, so seemingly should have ended the Darien Incident.

“Race War Imminent”

As far as some of the residents of McIntosh County were concerned, the incident was not over. They “determined that those who led the mob . . . shall feel the weight of the strong arm they have defied, and that punishment shall be meted out to them.” On August 24, the sheriff arrested 35 alleged rioters. At 3:00 am on August 25, two temporary deputies, Robert Townsend and an O. Hopkins, arrived at the Delegale home and demanded Henry’s sons surrender for inciting a riot. Reportedly, when Hopkins raised his weapon, someone in the house fired a shotgun, killing Townsend and severely wounding Hopkins. Amazingly, efforts by local officials of both races temporarily calmed the community. “Race War!” the headline of the Savannah Press blared as Col. Lawton, Capt. Grayson, and the First Georgia Infantry once again rushed to Darien, where they worked with local leaders to disarm all parties and, as a circular distributed by local black pastors and government officials urged, “to bring back to our city and county the peace and harmony between the races with which in the past we have been so signally blessed.” The Delegale sons and others surrendered to authorities, making a a total of 65 in local custody, 60 men and 5 women. Twenty-three were convicted and fined, each facing up to 12 months of hard labor, including two women. Charges were dropped against 40. Henry’s sons John and Edward Delegale received life sentences for the murder of John Townsend. A jury declared that Henry Delegale was innocent of the rape charge that began the entire episode. As far as can be determined, his accuser did not suffer any judicial consequences. One can only wonder what the social cost was for her, her husband, her bi-racial daughter, and “the peace and harmony” between the citizens of McIntosh County in the years that followed.

Text from a biographical sketch of William L. Grayson in a 1928 United Spanish War Veterans brochure:

“August 1899- Captain Grayson commanded a Composite Company from the 1st Georgia Infantry during the Darien riot under direct authority of Gov. Allen D. Chandler in an efficient and thoroughly satisfactory manner. On December 6th, he was unanimously elected Major of the 1st Battalion. In March, 1901, he commanded the military in charge of the riot at Sylvania, Georgia, courageously protecting from violence seven prisoners and upholding the majesty of the law.”

*The Darien “Insurrection” of 1899: Black Protest During The Nadir of Race Relations by W. Fitzhugh Brundage, The Georgia Historical Quarterly Vol. 74, No. 2 (Summer 1990) pg 234-253. Most of the historical insights come from this excellent overview of the Darien Incident.