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secrecy of their organization and their blood oath. Speaking out against the Night Riders carried a severe risk that could involve "disappearance and death," like the threats Milton Oliver faced after his 1910 testimony. Dr. Amoss claimed he had an alibi during the 1907 Hopkinsville raid, claiming that he was making a house call to examine
William H. "White's sick wife that night." The prosecution's attempts to disprove Dr. Amoss's alibi were unsuccessful, as the Whites' "son-in-law, Wylie Jones
167:... destroying the aura of mystery that had surrounded" Amoss and the other Night Riders. Even though Dr. Amoss was acquitted, "the power of the Night Riders" had been diminished. William H. White, the man who lied to the jury about Dr. Amoss' alibi, was scorned by the community after the trial. An African-American resident named Clyde Quisenberry spoke about White's role as the church deacon, saying that "...
53:
142:... informed Governor Wilson that the jury was composed of former outlaws and Night Riders." Col. Bassett had a right to be suspicious as he was the "commander of the local company of the Kentucky State Guards" that tracked down Dr. Amoss and the rest of the Night Riders in the aftermath of the 1907 Hopkinsville raid.
116:... Ku Klux Law," which stated that no group of people could "'go forth armed or disguised for the purpose of intimidating or alarming.'" He was tried for his leadership role in the Hopkinsville raid in 1907. However, the trial was delayed until March 1911, so that Oliver could fully recover from his injuries.
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Mitchell) in two separate cases, with four men in each. Col. E. B. Bassett claimed that the juries were unfair because the jury members were mostly local outlaws and criminals, who would be in favor of acquittal. These same sentiments were expressed by
Commonwealth Attorney Denny P. Smith, who "hoped for
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In
November 1909, John T. Hanberry was elected as a Kentucky circuit judge. He defeated Thomas P. Cook (a rumored Night Rider sympathizer) in the primary and a law-and-order candidate in the general election for the position. Judge Hanberry presided over the Amoss trial when he began his term in late
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On July 30, 1910, Axiom Cooper was shot by the Night Riders' Roy
Merrick and Vilas Mitchell while attending Tom Litchfield's barbecue. Cooper suffered several gunshot wounds in "his chest, back, wrist, and groin" and died the next day. Eight men were tried for Cooper's murder (including Merrick and
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The trial lasted from March 8 to March 16, 1911. Due to the jury selection, the result of the trial was never in doubt. Because of that, the trial turned into a "struggle for honor" among Night Rider members. There was contentious questioning among the defense and former Night Riders regarding the
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On May 25, 1910, Milton Oliver was shot in the left hip while standing in his front yard, causing the
Hopkinsville's Lieutenant Colonel to call in the Kentucky State Guards to keep watch over Oliver's farm and protect the surrounding neighborhood. The Kentucky guard's presence angered local Lyon
96:
In addition to the trial of Dr. Amoss, there were numerous other trials related to the
Hopkinsville raid. In 1908, many trials occurred in which witnesses identified Night Riders who participated in the raid. However, all of these cases ended in the Night Riders' acquittal or in the cases being
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During the month of March 1910, Milton Oliver, a former Night Rider, claimed that David Amoss was one of the seven leaders of the
Hopkinsville raid. Oliver was subsequently threatened by other Night Riders who claimed that other residents should avoid interacting with him at all costs.
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After the Axiom Cooper murder trials ended, Commonwealth
Attorney Denny P. Smith was joined by three other attorneys "hired by the Law-and-Order League," hoping to convict Dr. Amoss. However, like in the Axiom Cooper trial, the jury selection was hotly contested as "Col. E. B.
67:, taking part in the "violent enforcement of morality." As Dr. Amoss began attending Association meetings in the 1900s, he eventually began holding secretive meetings with PPA members who wanted to act violently on the organization's behalf.
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in 1908. At the end of the year in 1908, tobacco prices stabilized across the country, causing an end to the Night Riders' violent raids. There was a growing dissension among political figures between those militia men who enforced
38:
across
Kentucky and Tennessee from 1904–1909, mainly destroying large tobacco companies' warehouses because the farmers believed their prices were unfair. In 1910, he was put on trial for his leadership role in the
150:... avoided answering the subpoena" and other testimony did not "dispute Dr. Amoss's alibi." A couple of days later, after around forty minutes of deliberation by the jury, Dr. Amoss was declared not guilty.
129:... a hung jury so he could request the judge to call in a jury from another county." All eight men were acquitted, even after "the judge summoned a jury from Crittenden County."
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The non-guilty verdict did not surprise anyone in the community. However, historian
Christopher Waldrep wrote that "prosecutors revealed the inner workings of the Night Riders
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all the white people thought he was an idol god." White's testimony drove him out of town to nearby Princeton, as Suzanne Marshall writes that "the whites of Cobb
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dismissed. As a result, local townspeople started their own organization, the Law and Order League, which provided local protection against more raids.
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Waldrep, Christopher (Summer 1984). "The Law, the Night Riders, and Community Consensus: The Prosecution of Dr. David Amoss".
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Waldrep, Christopher (Autumn 1983). "'Human Wolves': The Night Riders and the Killing of Axiom Cooper".
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34:(PPA). The Night Riders were involved in a series of raids that made up the
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thrived on secrecy, securing everyone's loyalty by taking blood oaths.
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Night Riders: Defending Community in the Black Patch, 1890-1915
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and Middle Tennessee farmers that was an offshoot of the
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Violence in the Black Patch of Kentucky and Tennessee
83:, and those who supported the Night Riders' actions.
511:. University of Missouri Press. pp. 158–162.
574:The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
551:The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
74:Dr. Amoss was identified as the leader of the
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120:Axiom Cooper's death and trial
56:David Alfred Amoss (1857–1915)
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528:Waldrep, Christopher (1993).
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36:Black Patch Tobacco Wars
23:, a vigilante group of
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41:Hopkinsville, Kentucky
16:1910 trial in Kentucky
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133:Trial of David Amoss
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109:County residents.
608:Trials in Kentucky
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159:Community reaction
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21:Night Riders
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597:Categories
501:References
48:Background
154:Aftermath
586:23380340
563:23381165
87:Timeline
65:Kentucky
28:Kentucky
138:Bassett
62:Western
25:Western
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582:JSTOR
559:JSTOR
179:Notes
534:ISBN
513:ISBN
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