Horace Maples
Horace Maples, a Black man, was held in the Madison County jail in Huntsville, Alabama, under a militia guard the governor had ordered to protect him. On the night of September 7, 1904, press accounts say a mob broke through the sentries, disarmed them, entered the jail and took Maples out, hanging him from a tree on the courthouse lawn, though another report names a telegraph pole. Accounts differ on how the sheriff and soldiers responded: one says they surrendered, while another says they were outwitted despite protests. The Attorney General of Alabama has filed impeachment charges against Sheriff A. D. Rodgers, alleging he failed to order the militia to resist the mob and failed to protect the prisoner. A United States grand jury later said Maples would not have been taken from the jail had he not been Black, and it indicted several alleged members of the mob.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Horace Maples from the Madison County jail and hanged him, and the Attorney General's impeachment filing against Sheriff Rodgers alleges the sheriff failed to protect him, which the sheriff has not yet answered.
Reported by: Attorney General Massey Wilson; Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Sources (34)
- The Montgomery Advertiser, September 8, 1904, page 1
- The Courier-Journal, September 8, 1904, page 1
- The News & Observer, September 8, 1904, page 1
- Evening Journal, September 8, 1904, page 7
- Evening Times-Republican, September 8, 1904, page 1
- Daily Kennebec Journal, September 8, 1904, page 2
- New-York Tribune, September 8, 1904, page 6
- The Montgomery Advertiser, September 9, 1904, page 4
- Palestine Daily Herald, September 9, 1904, page 3
- The Montgomery Advertiser, September 16, 1904, page 1
- Vilas County News, September 19, 1904, page 2
- The Birmingham Age-Herald, September 20, 1904, page 1
- The Leader, September 21, 1904, page 3
- Iowa County Democrat, September 22, 1904, page 2
- The Birmingham Age-Herald, September 23, 1904, page 1
- The Montgomery Advertiser, October 13, 1904, page 7
- The Birmingham Age-Herald, October 13, 1904, page 3
- The Lancaster Ledger, October 29, 1904, page 1
- Edgefield Advertiser, November 2, 1904, page 4
- The County Record, November 3, 1904, page 4
- The Starkville News, November 4, 1904, page 3
- The Tupelo Journal, November 4, 1904, page 2
- The Pascoag Herald, November 4, 1904, page 7
- The Daily Morning Journal And Courier, May 6, 1905, page 4
- The Montgomery Advertiser, January 12, 1909, page 10
- The New Haven Union, January 12, 1909, page 11
- The Sun, January 12, 1909, page 5
- The Plymouth Tribune, January 28, 1909, page 3
- Valentine Democrat, January 28, 1909, page 7
- The Dakota Chief, January 28, 1909, page 3
- Wood County Reporter, January 28, 1909, page 6
- Dakota Farmers' Leader, January 29, 1909, page 6
- Wausau Pilot, February 2, 1909, page 7
- Grant County Herald, February 10, 1909, page 9