The riots began with an incident between protestors and US marshals. Protestors were protesting at the Lyceum Building on the Ole Miss campus. Marshals surrounded the Lyceum and began throwing tear gas. In response, the protestors began throwing rocks and bottles at the Marshals. As it got dark the campus grew more and more chaotic. People were beginning to shoot guns at each other. US Marshal Denzil N. Bud Staple recounts the night remembering what the protestors did. "They threw anything they had. I was hit with ,probably, a brick. Other deputies were also hit. The stones were getting larger. Some had broken concrete chunks slightly smaller than a football with wire handles attached that allowed them to toss the rocks completely across the street – breaking anything or anybody they hit.” Staple and other colleagues participated the 50th Anniversary of the riots and answered question at an open panel. Most accounts say the riots began around 7 pm with a crowd that continued to grow and grow and while its size grew, so did its unpredictability. The crowd began to throw bricks, rocks, battery acid, and Molotov Cocktails, the Marshals remembered. US Marshal Historian David Turk is a chief historian on the Marshals and said "But the Marshals had been ordered not to fire. Their job was to see that Meredith was admitted to the school safely among a crowd that grew more and more violent as the night passed. If it were not for their training, it would have been a massacre.” Because the crowd was not restrained by state authorities, the Marshals were given permission to throw tear gas at the crowds.
"The tear gas was able gained us a little space from the crowd, but only for brief periods,” Staple said. “We were still restricted from using firearms, so basically we were standing targets when the gunfire started.” said Staple. Shortly after the shooting started a young man from Oxford ,Ray Gunter, was struck in the head by a bullet and died. Another man would die as well, a Frenchman named Paul Guihard (A French Journalist), who appeared to be executed.
Kirk Bowden was one of the few US Marshals that was black. He was sent to the campus in late November. “Many may not realize there were black deputy marshals here back then,” Bowden said. “And I can tell you Oxford was not a pleasant place for federal law enforcement officers of any race, but rioters definitely vented a lot of their anger on us black marshals. As soon as I stepped foot on campus, I thought, ‘Lord, what have I gotten myself into?’”
The Kennedy administration did not intend to send any black Marshals for fear of making the riots worse. President Kennedy made an executive order during the night to mobilize the Mississippi National Guard, the 503rd Military Police Battalion, and other branches of the armed services to move into Oxford.
"James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss: A Soldier's Story" By Henry Gallagher
"The tear gas was able gained us a little space from the crowd, but only for brief periods,” Staple said. “We were still restricted from using firearms, so basically we were standing targets when the gunfire started.” said Staple. Shortly after the shooting started a young man from Oxford ,Ray Gunter, was struck in the head by a bullet and died. Another man would die as well, a Frenchman named Paul Guihard (A French Journalist), who appeared to be executed.
Kirk Bowden was one of the few US Marshals that was black. He was sent to the campus in late November. “Many may not realize there were black deputy marshals here back then,” Bowden said. “And I can tell you Oxford was not a pleasant place for federal law enforcement officers of any race, but rioters definitely vented a lot of their anger on us black marshals. As soon as I stepped foot on campus, I thought, ‘Lord, what have I gotten myself into?’”
The Kennedy administration did not intend to send any black Marshals for fear of making the riots worse. President Kennedy made an executive order during the night to mobilize the Mississippi National Guard, the 503rd Military Police Battalion, and other branches of the armed services to move into Oxford.
"James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss: A Soldier's Story" By Henry Gallagher
Often not fully remembered for their part, the US Marshals can be easily forgotten in this event but they endured all the hate Meredith endured as well. One-hundred twenty-seven (plus and additional 311 border patrol agents who had been deputized) deputy Marshals would endure a night of hate and violence in which more than half of the marshals would endure broken bones and cuts and bruises to their bodies.
http://www.usmarshals.gov/history/miss/02.htm
http://www.usmarshals.gov/history/miss/02.htm
Of the 538 deputies who went to Ole Miss, one-hundred and sixty were injured, twenty-eight of them by gunfire. These deputies would be kept within the Lyceum building while the crowds grew stronger outside by the minute. President Kennedy was on the phone constantly with either Governor Barnett or his brother Bobby staying on top of the situation. Dents still remain in the Lyceum building's columns even to this day from that night. US Marshals would hold the line for 11 hours at the Lyceum, but this was not the only place where attacks had occurred. Riots were all over the campus. Vehicles were being tipped over. Molotov cocktails were being thrown. High powered rifles being shot. The tear gas supplied a hazy look to the campus as if it was the final battle of the Civil War. At 2 am in the morning, federal troops would relieve the Marshals and fixed bayonets as they slowly took back the campus. By morning the riots had been put down, but the damage from that night still remained. To this day Ole Miss remembers the scarf
While the riots happened, Meredith would remain untouched and guarded heavily. While on campus for two years, he wouldn't be attacked once by white students. He would be escorted by Marshals for his entire first year of school. He showed 100% commitment to his education and wouldn't quiver in fear to any threat. Meredith still fights the battles he has been fighting since 1962 to this day. He often denounces the statue in his honor as saying it wasn't for him, but for Mississippi and Ole Miss.
Still he is glad he was able to do his part in history and win the rights that so many people had been denied. After his days at Ole Miss, Meredith would continue to fight for rights and would be injured doing so. Meredith partook in a one man march on fear. While on his march, a sniper shot him in the leg. The next day many more civil rights leaders would continue his march for him. Through the night of the riots and through the rest of his life, James Meredith made sure that he showed no fear.
Still he is glad he was able to do his part in history and win the rights that so many people had been denied. After his days at Ole Miss, Meredith would continue to fight for rights and would be injured doing so. Meredith partook in a one man march on fear. While on his march, a sniper shot him in the leg. The next day many more civil rights leaders would continue his march for him. Through the night of the riots and through the rest of his life, James Meredith made sure that he showed no fear.