Trying temperance Neely : a story of murder, race and reconstruction justice in North Carolina / Tobin T. Buhk.

Author/creator Buhk, Tobin T. author
Format Book
PublicationJefferson : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2026.
Descriptionpages cm
Subjects
Neely, Temperance, -1860--Murder.
Ku Klux Klan (19th century)--Trials, litigation, etc.
Trials (Murder)--North Carolina. --History. --19th century.
Murder--North Carolina. --History. --19th century.
Race relations--North Carolina. --History. --19th century.
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)--North Carolina.
African Americans--Legal status, laws, etc. --North Carolina. --History. --19th century.
Military courts--United States. --History. --19th century.
Proc es (Meurtre)--Caroline du Nord. --Histoire. --19e si ecle.
Cours militaires-- Etats-Unis. --Histoire. --19e si ecle.

Contents Part I A new world -- 1 The Henderson Cooper case and Southern courts -- 2 Into numbness -- 3 The Alfred Locke case and trial by military commission -- 4 The William Farr trial -- 5 The shot heard around North Carolina -- 6 Arrest -- 7 News -- 8 Salt in the wound -- 9 The execution of Mary Surratt -- 10 Murder or self-defense? A precursor -- Part II The trial of Temperance Neely -- 11 The Kise Commission -- 12 The trial begins -- 13 Anatomy of a military commission file -- 14 Legal challenges -- 15 Unearthing the identities of the Neely enslaved -- 16 Sallie Neal (case for the prosecution I) -- 17 Henderson (case for the prosecution II) -- 18 Cassandra (case for the prosecution III) -- 19 Providence (case for the defense I) -- 20 Arthur (case for the defense II) -- 21 The surveyor (case for the defense III) -- 22 Friends and relatives (case for the defense IV) -- 23 Arguments -- 24 Words -- 25 Thomas Ruger -- Part III Violent fall -- 26 It is a dangerous precedent to establish -- 27 No leeway -- 28 The ultimate penalty -- 29 Revisiting the Henderson case and military justice -- Part IV Epilogue and analysis -- 30 The fates of the key figures -- 31 A reexamination of the Temperance Neely case -- Appendix A Closing argument for the defense I -- Appendix B Closing argument for the defense II -- Appendix C Closing argument for the prosecution -- Appendix D Ruger's letter to the military commission.
Abstract "Centered on the murder of a young white woman, Temperance Neely, this book examines the ensuing investigation, revealing a local struggle over race, power, and authority during the early years of emancipation following the Civil War. Through close attention to legal proceedings, community responses, and political tensions, it situates the crime within the broader effort to redefine citizenship and justice in the postwar South. This book utilizes information from court records, government documents, newspapers, and firsthand accounts, tracing the actions of freed people, former Confederates, federal officials and vigilante groups, including the Ku Klux Klan. It demonstrates how violence was used as an intimidation tactic, shaping Reconstruction at the local level and undermining federal attempts to enforce civil rights. Through the deconstruction of a single case and its participants, it offers an in-depth analysis of how national policies played out in everyday life, highlighting the continued divide between communities after the war's end."-Provided by publisher"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
LCCN2026007557
ISBN9781476697246
ISBN1476697248
ISBNebook

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