Red Shirts Paramilitary Terrorizes South Carolina Voters

Wade Hampton organized the Red Shirts in South Carolina in 1876 as an open paramilitary campaign to overthrow Republican government. Red Shirt companies disrupted Republican rallies by demanding equal time, then shouting down speakers; they rode armed through Black communities and warned individuals not to vote Republican. Hampton's 'Edgefield Plan' concentrated on targeted assassination of Republican leaders. The combination of terror and electoral fraud swept Democrats into power in the 1876 s