Alabama National Guard In Phenix City-A High Watermark, The

Army, Aug 2005 by Allen, Richard F

The next day, the Post Herald published an open letter to the governor noting that four weeks had passed since the Patterson murder and no apparent progress had been made in Phenix City. The paper urged the governor to act swiftly and decisively. That same day the Jefferson County district attorney called the governor, but the governor declined to appear before the grand jury. The grand jury foreman took the phone and told the governor that he would come voluntarily or he would be subpoenaed. Three hours later, the governor appeared before the grand jury.

Finally, on July 22, the governor called Gen. Hanna and told him he would be declaring martial law in Phenix City at 4:30 that afternoon. The governor had traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the FBI and other constitutional authorities, because the action he was about to take was unprecedented. At 5:30 P.M. local time, truckloads of soldiers carrying rifles with fixed bayonets surrounded the county courthouse and City Hall. Gen. Hanna and his troops removed, disarmed and took the badges of the sheriff and his deputies, and the police chief and his police officers. The Alabama National Guard took control of law enforcement in Phenix City.

In anticipation of the declaration of martial law, Gen. Hanna had his staff screen the records of all National Guard soldiers to find lawyers, policemen, jailers, wardens and the like to bring to Phenix City to execute the mission once all was ready. Col. Jack Warren was named military sheriff of Russell County and Col. James Brown was appointed military police chief of Phenix City. Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer Maj. Ray Acton, who as a civilian was mayor of Homewood, near Birmingham, was appointed legal advisor to the military police chief and later became the acting military mayor.

After the takeover, Hanna gathered his troops in the National Guard Armory for a motivational session:

"The situation here is as serious as combat and is the moral equivalent of war. Thugs and gangs who figure they are above the law have ambushed and killed the attorney general-elect, threatened the governor of this state and his family and have a whole town under siege by intimidation and fear.

"We are going to change all that. I want this mission accomplished without so much as the firing of one shot. Our ammunition is going to be evidence, something the law enforcement of this town has never been able to come up with before.

"When I say evidence, I mean an avalanche of evidence that will bury these bastards under the weight of their own misdeeds, misconduct and lawlessness.

"We're going to do everything the law allows. I want every one of them, no exceptions, hit with every law they've ever violated, so hard and so fast that they'll have no time for masterminding mischief and intimidation; their only concern will be how to save themselves, in other words, an enemy in full retreat.

"Our job here is to restore law and order and the constitutional rights to the people, and I mean to see to it that it gets done. If in the doing, any soldier of mine is threatened or harmed, in any way whatsoever, I'll lower the goddam boom on this town. If a combat situation arises, you are armed and have been trained to use your weapon. You know what to do, and I expect you to do it.