White paramilitary 'Red Shirts' attack Black militiamen and residents of Hamburg, South Carolina, killing several in a campaign of political terror.
At a Glance
- Date
- 8 July 1876
- Location
- Hamburg, South Carolina
- Category
- Civil Unrest & Racial Violence
- Source
- Contemporary accounts (1876) · Library of Congress
What It Meant Then
It was part of the violent overthrow of Reconstruction in South Carolina.
What It Means Now
The massacre helped restore white-supremacist rule in the state.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “The Hamburg Massacre.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-hamburg-massacre/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). The Hamburg Massacre. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-hamburg-massacre/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “The Hamburg Massacre.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-hamburg-massacre/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.