Mayor of Baton Rouge Before and After the Civil War: A Dangerous Political Landscape
James Essex Elam: 1829-1873 (Husband of Maternal First
Cousin 4x Removed)
Mary S. Vanlandingham Elam: 1838-1916 (Maternal First Cousin
4x Removed)
January 2023 turned out to be a serendipitous time to be
researching O.C. Vanlandingham’s children. One of my book clubs chose Gone with the Wind as their January
selection, and the Vanlandinghams’ journey had some parallels to Scarlett O’Hara’s.
The end of Scarlett’s story takes place during Reconstruction, as the
victorious North attempted to control and manipulate the breakaway states
through martial law, brutal taxation and ballot box schemes. This same scenario
played out in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Mary Vanlandingham’s husband was
re-elected to the post of mayor that he’d held before the Civil War, and was
then thrown out of office in a conflict between the white, Old South Democratic
party and the Republican Party, controlled by Northern carpetbaggers, Southern
scammers, and buoyed by the votes of newly freed and easily manipulated black
residents.
Mary Vanlandingham was born to Oliver Cromwell Vanlandingham
and his wife Margaret Drake on May 22, 1838. She was the sixth of their seven
children. After her father bought a large cotton plantation about eight to ten
miles from Baton Rouge some time before 1851, he also acquired a home in the
city where Mary spent part of her childhood.
Mary met an ambitious young attorney by the name of James
Essex Elam, the son of another prominent Baton Rouge attorney, James Mason
Elam, who died in 1856. In addition to practicing law, James Essex was elected
mayor of Baton Rouge in 1859. He and Mary were married on April 20, 1860. I am
sure Mary’s family was pleased to have an able young politician in the family. Mary
took on great responsibility at only 22, becoming the first lady of Louisiana’s
capital city, which probably entailed serving as hostess to the city’s rich and
politically powerful.
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| James Mason Elam, father of James Essex Elam |
James’ first mayoral term ended in early 1862, just before
the Civil War. His successor, Mayor Holt, had barely assumed office when he was
forced to flee along with state government officials just ahead of the arrival
of Union troops in April 1862. The city
remained in Union hands for the rest of the war.
It does not appear that James Essex Elam served in the Confederate
Army—I have found no records to suggest he enlisted, even when the Confederates
tried to retake the city in the summer of 1862. It is unclear if the Elam family,
which by then included an infant son, James, also fled before Union occupation,
or if they remained in the hope of protecting their home and James’ law
practice. Much of the city was heavily damaged during the battle for the city,
as seen below.
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| Andrew Lytle photo of rubble following Battle of Baton Rouge, 1862 |
The Union commander in charge of the occupation of Baton
Rouge appointed a new mayor in the interim, who held office (but not much
power) from 1862-1865. Once the war was over, however, that mayor resigned to
serve in the state legislature.
James E. Elam was appointed mayor in 1865 by then-Governor
Wells. James ran for re-election in 1867, but the election was cancelled by
order of General Sheridan to comply with the terms of the new Reconstruction
Act. James remained in office as an
appointee mayor until 1869.
This initial post-war period must have required careful maneuvering
on James’ part to govern, caught between the demands of the occupying forces,
the demands by newly freed slaves for their rights, and the desire of the
beaten Confederates to regain their pre-war power and security. James and Mary
added two more children to their family during this four year mayoral term, son
William in 1863 and daughter Mary Rebecca in 1867.
Subsequent elections came fast and furious. After James
stepped down as the Democratic mayor in 1869, another Democrat by the name of
Skolfield took office for a one-year period, 1869-1870. Then James Elam was
re-elected mayor in 1870, holding office for a year as well.
Then came the worst of the Reconstruction period’s conflict in
Baton Rouge. The 1871 election was a contested one, with election fraud on both
sides. James Elam ran as the Democratic candidate, but the winner of the
election by a margin of just 15 votes was an African American business owner
named Loyeau Berhel. The Wikipedia entry on Baton Rouge mayors provides some
context:
“Multiple mayoral
elections during the Reconstruction Era were disputed. After the 1871 election
Gov. Henry Clay Warmoth did what he legally could from the temporary capitol in
New Orleans to briefly prop up the new African American Republican mayor, who
was facing an overwhelmingly Democratic-controlled board of selectmen: 254 —but
in 1872 Warmoth himself was facing a mounting impeachment effort and forced to
broaden what remained of his support by reaching out to Democrats who had a
much more solid base in Louisiana than the Republicans did; he declared the
disputed 1872 election results null and void, and awarded the state's
commission to the Democratic candidate. Ultimately, the 1872–73 term
essentially ended up with two separately-functioning city governments, one
recognized primarily by African American and pro-Union white Republicans
(including so-called "carpetbaggers" and "scalawags") and
one recognized primarily by native white Democrats.”
The New Orleans Republic newspaper summarized the elections
results as follows:
“The two candidates
were of our most popular class of citizens. Hon. J. E. Elam is an old resident
of Baton Rouge, a gentleman of excellent social qualities, and in point of competency
is fitted for the position; indeed, he has held it for many years….
Mr. Berhel, the Mayor
elect, is a colored gentleman of ability, and one of the few of that class who
has the esteem of all who intimately know him.
The result of our
municipal election is not exactly as we desired, but we can not complain. The
council consists of men of business experience, who will no doubt control the affairs
of the city with an eye to economy and prosperity.”
The newspaper, despite being the mouthpiece of the
Republicans in New Orleans, made clear their lack of respect for the new mayor,
complimenting him as “a colored man of ability”, subtly hinting that he was
able among colored men, not men in general, and that his ability was a rarity: “one
of the few of that class…” Contrast this faint praise to the way James Elam was
described, as a “gentleman” of “excellent social qualities” and “competency”.
In other words, he was the sort of man who should be in such a position, if
only he hadn’t been a Confederate and thus in need of “reconstruction”.
The newspaper also points out that the city council is
composed of “men of business experience”, i.e. wealthy white people, who will “control
the affairs of the city”. In other words, the white residents of Baton Rouge
have nothing to fear from a black mayor because the real control of the city
will rest in the hands of the white council.
Poor Mayor Berhal barely lasted a year before James Elam
returned to office. However, this didn’t bring peace to the city. The 1872
election was equally contentious, even though the Republican candidate was now
a white man, Henry Schorten. As mentioned in the Wikipedia quote above, both
Schorten and Elam claimed to have won, and two separate city administrations were
set up. The official vote totals were 396 for Elam and 499 for Schorten, but
the Democrats claimed there were voting irregularities. Elam was the incumbent
and refused to vacate office.
While Mayor Elam was out of town in March 1873, Schorten and
his supporters actually broke into City Hall. According to the New Orleans
Republican news report,
“Schorten,…with a party of his adherents, took forcible possession
of the City Hall, declared all the offices vacant and proceeded to fill them ad
libitum. Their police, however, were disarmed and arrested by the regular
force.”
Mayor Elam did not remain in office for long, however.
Backroom negotiations were in progress. According to Wikipedia,
“African American
state senator J. Henri Burch, a prominent area Republican, met with Elam, and
they negotiated a compromise where Elam would resign his position and support
new governor William Pitt Kellogg's appointment of the Republican incumbent to
the mayor's seat—along with three Republicans and three Democrats to the city
council (as selected by a conference committee). This compromise was largely
acceptable to both sides (very rare for Reconstruction), although a rogue
faction of the Democrats did attempt to hold their own election for the council
(which failed to draw many to the polls and apparently quickly faded away).
James Elam resigned on March 27, 1873. The Republican newspaper
started their report as follows:
“For some time past
Baton Rouge has been in a state of ferment, owing to the contention between
rival claimants—Republicans on the one side and Democrats on the other—for possession
of the city government. Violence, in one or two instances, has been resorted to
and the peace and safety of the city constantly kept in jeopardy…
We are happy to
announce the desirable end has been reached in a definite and practical form,
which is in the highest degree complimentary to the patriotism and sound sense
of the Senator and those associated with him in the management of the delicate
negotiations.”
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James Elam’s political career had obviously placed him under
immense pressure and strain. His health may have been damaged as a result of
the stress. Just months after leaving office, he suddenly died on July 31, 1873.
He was only 43 years old.
Despite his long political career, I can find no obituaries
for him. Newspapers were under close military control during Reconstruction, so
probably they were reluctant to laud him in death and risk offending Republican
power brokers. The Times-Picayune notice was the most complimentary, stating
that “Mr. Elam has held many positions of honor and trust in that city and was
universally esteemed. He had enjoyed the respect of every individual in the
community during his long public career.”
Despite being cast out of office on more than one occasion,
James Essex Elam was honored for his service in death. He left his widow, Mary
Vanlandingham Essex, who lived another 43 years after his death, and five
children, one of whom was born after his death. He was buried in Magnolia Cemetery
in Baton Rouge. If his grave bears a stone, there are no photos of it online.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_Baton_Rouge,_Louisiana
“Baton Rouge Election”. New
Orleans Republican. April 14, 1871. Accessed on Newspapers.com
New Orleans Republican.
New Orleans, LA. March 28, 1873. Accessed on Newspapers.com
Election results. The
Opelousas Journal. Opalousas, LA April 20 1872. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
"Peace In Baton Rouge: The Lion and the Lamb Lie Down
Together—Practical Compromise and Happy Results". New Orleans Republican (p. 1). April 3, 1873.
“Death of Hon. James E. Elam.” New Orleans Times-Picayune.
New Orleans, LA. August 1, 1873.
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