Pulaski riot freedmen gathered at the door of the store, some eighteen whites rushed and shot at them at close range. They murdered one man, mortally wounded another, and injured four. No white was injured or prosecuted. The incident was investigated by the Freedmen's Bureau office of Nashville, Tennessee. In December 1865, white Confederate veterans had founded the Ku Klux Klan, a secret vigilante organization, in Pulaski. Chapters had been started in numerous other towns in Tennessee and other states. Members generally operated in groups and often threatened intended victims at night, trying to suppress black political actions and sometimes economic enterprises.
Pulaski County, Virginia second wife Elizabeth Hoge. Eliza died 2 hours after James' birth, and his maternal grandparents brought him the 300 miles back to Pulaski County and reared him here. His grandparents were General James F. Hoge and Eleanor Haven Howe, and they owned what is now known as Belle-Hampton estate. James lived with his grandparents until he enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861, and served until the end of the war, when he was paroled at Appomattox. After the war, he returned to Pulaski to farm, and became interested in politics. In 1877 he was chosen as Senator for the