Peter Crosby (–1884), was an American

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, tax collector, military officer, and businessperson. In 1873 during the

Reconstruction-era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the blood ...

, Crosby was the first African American to be elected as sheriff in Warren County, Mississippi. Crosby was forcibly removed from his office in December 1874 by an angry mob of White

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, the event is often referred to as the

Vicksburg massacre Vicksburg most commonly refers to: * Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States * The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign * The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle Vicksburg is also the name o ...

Early life and military service

Peter Crosby was born in , in Clarke County, Mississippi, U.S.. Some records have his year of birth as 1846. He had been enslaved. He was described as "mulatto" in some records. At the age of 20 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Crosby joined the

United States Colored Troops The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

regiment) in Company C, 5th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Crosby joined a Black political group in 1872, the Vicksburg Ring. He served as

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

of Warren County in 1873. By 1875, he acquired large sums of property, which made him the most well-off Black community member in Vicksburg.

Sheriff career

Extremist democrats in Mississippi, the majority of which were White, had publicly threatened violence for anyone not voting for them after the Civil War. Crosby was a republican and was elected as county sheriff on November 1873, and he was to assume the office the following January 1, 1874. The democrats declared Crosby's bond invalid. On December 2, 1874, members of the Taxpayers’ League, a White citizens organization, met in the sheriff's office and demanded Crosby's resignation. The group returned with six hundred armed White men, and at gunpoint Crosby was forced to sign his own resignation paperwork. Days later on December 7, 1874, Black citizens from Vicksburg marched to the Warren County Courthouse with the goal of reinstating Crosby to office. The group of Black citizens was told to go home by one White mob that had met them at the courthouse. Some of the Black citizens were slowly leaving, when a second White group (referred to as the

White League The White League, also known as the White Man's League, was a white paramilitary terrorist organization started in the Southern United States in 1874 to intimidate freedmen into not voting and prevent Republican Party political organizing. Its f ...

in some citations) allegedly opened fire on the mostly unarmed Black group. Reports differ on exactly who fired weapons first, but only one White man was killed and twenty five Black men were killed during the December 7, 1874 event. This was later referred to as the Vicksburg Massacre (or the Vicksburg riots). Following this attack, President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

sent federal troops to Vicksburg. The killing continued south of the city, and some historians estimate that anywhere between 150 to 300 Black citizens were killed on January 5, 1875, when U.S. Army forces under Gen.

Phil Sheridan General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...

arrived to secure the city. They reinstated Crosby as sheriff shortly after the arrival of the U.S. Army. Upon reinstatement, Crosby hired a new deputy, a White man named J.P. Gilmer. Gilmer attempted to assassinate Crosby and shot him in the head on June 7, 1875, after not wanting to follow orders from the Black sheriff. Gilmer was arrested but never went to trial. Crosby did not die and he never fully recovered from his wounds; and his remaining term in office was served by a White man. His term as sheriff ended in the last quarter of 1875. Following the Vicksburg Massacre, a

congressional inquiry A United States congressional hearing is the principal formal method by which United States congressional committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Whether confirmation hearings (a procedure unique ...

took place, with 115 witnesses.

Death and legacy

Crosby died at the age of forty on March 15, 1884, in Vicksburg. Warren County would not see another Black sheriff serve until

Otha Jones Otha is a given name and surname. Notable persons with that name include: Persons with the given name * Otha Bailey (1931–2013), American baseball player * Ellas Otha Bates or Bo Diddley (1928–2008), American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and ...

, appointed from 1995 to 1996 (120 years after Crosby). There are no known images of Crosby. In 2015, a portrait of Crosby by local student Michael Neal was added to the lobby of the sheriff’s office in Warren County placed alongside many of the other historical sheriffs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosby (sheriff), Peter 1840s births 1884 deaths 19th-century African-American businesspeople 19th-century American businesspeople African-American history of Mississippi African-American military personnel American businesspeople in real estate Anti-black racism in Mississippi County sheriffs in the United States People from Vicksburg, Mississippi United States Colored Troops Civil War units and formations

Early life and military service

Sheriff career

Death and legacy

See also

References