Published by The Evansville Courier

When soldiers and deputies fired their weapons to prevent the mob from breaking their defensive lines around the county jail, others in the crowd returned fire.

Both protesters and onlookers were caught in the shooting.

"Six of the Mob Killed; 30 Injured," the July 7 headline read. The Evansville Courier carefully described the death scenes on the streets at the corner of Fourth Street and Division, which is Court Street today.

One was a teen-age girl who was shot while sitting in a carriage with her parents. The others were boys and men. Names of some 30 wounded and a description of their injuries were published in the paper, followed by prognoses such as "may die," "condition precarious," "will recover," "will die."

An Irvin Alexander cartoon printed that day suggested that the cause of the city's racial problems was "imported" blacks who were bribed with beer and money as new voters to the area.

The Courier also reported that Lee Brown, accused of killing policeman Lewis Massey, was dying in a Vincennes, Ind., jail where he was taken to prevent his lynching. "Brown is too weak to stand from loss of blood from a bullet in his lung, and death will come within 48 hours, say the doctors."

The shock wave after the shooting deaths - which soon numbered nine - arrival of 300 more armed troops brought quiet to Evansville streets by July 8. The governor's order preventing Brown's transportation back to Evansville for trial probably helped preserve the peace.

But unrest still existed and many blacks left Evansville to escape the violence. Outlying newspapers reported the arrival of "strange" blacks from Evansville and the newcomers often were not welcomed. Many families never returned to Evansville.

In the meantime, five local men were arrested for riotous conspiracy and participating in a riot. The Courier reported that the grand jury expected to indict 30 to 40 men. And people began to question who fired the first shot.