WASHINGTON – On the afternoon of Sunday,
Sept. 30, 1962, 127 Deputy U.S. Marshals, 316 federalized border patrol
personnel and 97 deputized prison guards, on the orders of then - U.S. Attorney
General Robert F. Kennedy, surrounded the administration building on the campus
of the University of Mississippi.
The registration office, known as the
“Lyceum,” was a historic, columned building, which in the morning would admit
Mr. James Howard Meredith as the institution’s first African-American student.
Previous attempts at registration were stopped, as Governor Ross Barnett and
other state officials supported segregation.
As evening approached, the crowds around
the Lyceum grew. The deputies were dressed in military helmets, vests and armed
with tear gas, just in case. The crowds became more aggressive as darkness
fell. Bricks and battery acid were hurled at the deputies, followed by buckshot
and vehicles, but still the line held.
From inside the Lyceum, deputies and
Department of Justice officials communicated with the president and attorney
general. Help first came from Mississippi National Guard troops, but their
numbers were too few to make a difference. Then at 2 a.m., active duty military
forces arrived to relieve the deputies. During the heroic 11 hours on the line,
168 were injured, of which 79 were Deputy U.S. Marshals. Dents from the attacks
remain in the Lyceum’s columns to this day.
The deputies stayed at the university
after the riot ended until the morning. Meredith, who arrived later, was
guarded by another detail of Deputy U.S. Marshals and he registered without
incident. Deputies accompanied Meredith during his time at the university until
his graduation in August 1963.
Throughout the 223-year history of the
U.S. Marshals Service, deputies have carried out their orders no matter how
unpopular or how dangerous.
Additional information about the U.S.
Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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