November 10, 1898
A mob of as many as 2,000 whites roamed the streets of Wilmington, burned the offices of the black-owned Wilmington Record newspaper, murdered perhaps dozens of black residents, ran black and white Republican leaders out of town and forced the legally elected Republican city government to resign. The city officials were replaced by a slate of white supremacist Democrats chosen by a secret committee. Although an exact death toll is unknown, the county coroner performed 14 inquests after the riot and the report found evidence the number might have been as high as 60. The rioters also expelled at least 20 specifically targeted individuals from Wilmington, putting them at gunpoint on northbound trains. Some 2,100 other residents, mostly blacks, left the city in the following days and weeks in a mass exodus. It is the only successful coup d’etat in US history.
