Title	Monthly Report of Operations and Conditions, June 1868
Record type	report
Creator	Judd, George E.
Date of creation	1868-07-09
Series	Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Tennessee, Bureau of Refugees, Freedman, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1869
Description	J. K. Nelson, superintendent of Rutherford County, Tennessee, notes in his report for June 1868 the extreme uptick in Ku Klux Klan activity in Rutherford County, and also the increased brutality of Klan assaults. Nelson describes in graphic detail several incidents of the Klan assaulting African Americans. Nelson notes that because of the continuous Klan activity, he fears for his life. He notes that he sleeps with a revolver under his pillow, and has both a loaded double barreled shotgun and hatchet close at hand. Nelson notes that many African Americans are terrified by the Klan to the point of being afraid to sleep in their own homes. Nelson notes the effect the constant Klan intimidation is having on local politics. African Americans have not yet lost the right to vote in June 1868. However, Nelson notes that in order to preserve their political careers and save their own necks, the Republican politicians African Americans helped elect will have to turn against their constituents. Nelson notes that Rutherford County Klan membership by June 1868 averaged between 800 and 1000 members strong. Nelson then proceeds to name people from the area who are in the Klan. Nelson finishes his report by commenting on the continued difficulty with bounty claims being paid out and the presence of a false bounty claims agent in Murfreesboro. As an aside, when discussing the Klan assaults on African Americans, Nelson notes that one of the African Americans assaulted had, during the Civil War, been conscripted into the Confederate army.
Additional notes	Series M999, Reel 18, [Frame 834-843]
Geographic location	Rutherford County (Tenn.)
Names that occur in the record	Nelson, J. K Carlton, Bill Fletcher, Minot Web, D. Buchanan, John E. Douglas, A. B. C. General Carlin Gelray, Joseph Arnold, Edward Ferguson, Charles Barkley, Dock Cox Jenkins, Toby Jenkins, Hiram Keeb, Ed McLaughlin Sellard, Tom Holmes, James Alexander, Joseph Carlin, W. P. Howard, O. O. Coons, J. B. Ballock, George W. Judd, George E.
Subject (LC)	African Americans--Tennessee African Americans--Tennessee--Social conditions--19th century Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)--Tennessee--Rutherford County Rutherford County (Tenn.) United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands--Records and correspondence
Coverage	1860-1869
Contributing institution	National Archives and Records Administration
Medium	Microfilm
Bibliographic citation	[Document title, date]. Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Tennessee. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1869. Series M999, [Reel number, Frame number/s]. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
Copyright status	public domain
Collection name	Freedmen's Bureau Records