Thomas Hunt's Blog - Posts Tagged "deep-water"
Civil War black market and Macheca
150 years ago today (Aug. 28, 1863), Joseph Macheca of New Orleans was tried and convicted in a Union military occupation court in connection with a scheme to steal and sell barrels of U.S. Army pork and beef.
Shortly after his conviction, Macheca left New Orleans for Texas, where he reportedly engaged in smuggling. He later returned to New Orleans with a small fortune.
Often erroneously labeled America's earliest Mafia boss, Macheca was in fact a strong patron of the fledgling Mafia (though never its boss and probably never a member).
Read more here.
Shortly after his conviction, Macheca left New Orleans for Texas, where he reportedly engaged in smuggling. He later returned to New Orleans with a small fortune.
Often erroneously labeled America's earliest Mafia boss, Macheca was in fact a strong patron of the fledgling Mafia (though never its boss and probably never a member).
Read more here.
Armed rebellion in 1874 New Orleans
Busy weekend... I neglected to post about the 139th anniversary of the so-called "Battle of Liberty Place."
The event is dealt with in detail in Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia. Macheca, a captain in the conservative Democrat White League, played a pivotal role in the battle against Louisiana's carpetbagger Republican state government.
Read more on the Deep Water blog
The event is dealt with in detail in Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia. Macheca, a captain in the conservative Democrat White League, played a pivotal role in the battle against Louisiana's carpetbagger Republican state government.
Read more on the Deep Water blog
Liberty Place monument removed
Early yesterday morning, New Orleans city workers dismantled and removed a 35-foot obelisk commemorating the 1874 Battle of Liberty Place.
As readers of Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia are aware, the battle was an important moment in Macheca's life. In the conflict between the conservative Democratic "White League" and the Republican Reconstruction government of Louisiana, Macheca commanded a White League-aligned force of immigrant Sicilians.
The monument was erected in 1891 (the same year that Macheca and ten other men were killed by a New Orleans lynch mob). Originally dedicated to the White League members who lost their lives in the fight, the monument later became a symbol for white supremacists and a cause of decades of controversy.
Read more on the Writers of Wrongs website.
As readers of Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia are aware, the battle was an important moment in Macheca's life. In the conflict between the conservative Democratic "White League" and the Republican Reconstruction government of Louisiana, Macheca commanded a White League-aligned force of immigrant Sicilians.
The monument was erected in 1891 (the same year that Macheca and ten other men were killed by a New Orleans lynch mob). Originally dedicated to the White League members who lost their lives in the fight, the monument later became a symbol for white supremacists and a cause of decades of controversy.
Read more on the Writers of Wrongs website.
