In the late afternoon of May 1, 1866, long broiling tensions between the residents of southern Memphis, Tennessee erupted into a three day riot known as the Memphis Riot of 1866.  The riot began when a white police officer attempted to arrest a black ex-soldier and an estimated fifty blacks showed up to stop the police from jailing him.  Accounts vary as to who began the shooting, but the altercation that ensued quickly involved more and more of the city.  The victims initially were only black soldiers, but the violence quickly spread to other blacks living just south of Memphis who were attacked while their homes, schools, and churches were destroyed.  White Northerners who worked as missionaries and school teachers in black schools were also targeted.
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