Near the end of the war and the during post war reconstruction period was brought a time of fear and social panic for many white southerners. It was no different in the lands of Old Autauga. The rule of law was ignored by many, as authorities were stretched thin. Local law enforcement was pratically disbanded. Economic woes were systematic across the land. Racial tensions were fervent and worries of widespread "black revenge" gripped the population. This fear was intensified by the policies forced upon southern whites by the northern carpetbagger politicians who eventually garnished control of southern governments, and who also poccessed the threat of Federal guns to enforce their many times, cruel, and sadistic endeavors against the defeated enemy.
Out of this chaos rose many southern vilgilante groups, emposing their own brand of justice against those they viewed as northern sympathizers, and men who they considered traitors, having deserted the Confederate armies during the war. Their justice was hard, cruel and many times unjust. A certain band of confederates know as "The Blackwell Crowd" spread their brand of justice across the central area of the state reaching into areas that were once Autauga, Bibb, and Shelby Counties during the war.
The following link is one such version of The Blackwell Crowd and their harsh treatment of the men & families they persecuted, passed down by the folk who lived during those horrific times.....
