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 A political war situated in Fort Bend County,
Texas, the feud was between the existing Republican Reconstruction government and the vying Democratic party for political control of the county.
It began with the political election in 1888, pitting the "Jaybirds," a Democratic group who represented wealth and about 90 percent of the white population, against the Republican government, referred to as the "Woodpeckers," who had gained control during Reconstruction. This "Woodpeckers" also claimed to be "Democrats," but they represented the Republican Reconstruction and had been elected primarily as a result of the black vote for the Republican ticket.
According to legend, the conflict allegedly got its name from a local "half-crazy" black man who was said to have been constantly singing about jaybirds and woodpeckers. For whatever reasons, the Democrats identified themselves as the Jaybirds.
As the election neared, debates began to rage between the two factions, pitting former friends, neighbors and relatives against each other. These heated arguments came to head when J.M. Shamblin, the Jaybird leader, was killed on August 2, 1888. The next month, another Jaybird leader named Henry Frost, was seriously wounded. The Jaybirds soon held a mass meeting in Richmond,
Texas on September 6, 1888 and resolved to warn certain black people in the county to leave, which they did. When election day came around, the heaviest vote in county history was polled, but the Woodpeckers retained control and the breach between the two factions widened. The threats, assaults and killings continued unabated and the county became an armed camp. On August 16, 1889, the heated exchange culminated in what has become known as "Battle of Richmond." It started when shots were exchanged by two members of the woodpeckers against two of the Jaybird faction near the courthouse and the National Hotel. In no time, the ranks of both sides were fortified with additional members and their blazing guns.
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After exchanging shots for about twenty minutes, and leaving a number of dead men on the ground, the Woodpecker men retreated and left the Jaybirds in possession of the town. Jaybirds from all parts of the county hurried to Richmond in anticipation of further hostilities, but the smoke had settled. Upon hearing of the altercation, Governor Lawrence S. Ross sent in the Houston Light Guards and the Brenham Light Guards to establish martial law the next day. The governor, too, came to Richmond, and acting as mediator, a complete reorganization of the county government resulted in the removal of the Woodpecker officials and Jaybird members were placed into office.
In October, the Jaybirds formally organized the Jaybird Democratic Organization of Fort Bend County, which dominated local politics for the next seventy years.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated September, 2008
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