The Battle of Athens Tenn 1946

This iz one of those moveez that you don't see all the time and is very hard to find. Although a movie the was an true account dated back in 1946. The event is sometimes cited by firearms ownership advocates as an example of the value of the Second Amendment in combating tyranny.
The primary election was held on August 1. To intimidate voters, Mansfield brought in some 200 armed "deputies." GI poll-watchers were beaten almost at once. At about 3 p.m., Tom Gillespie, an African- American voter was told by a sheriff's deputy that he could not vote. Despite being beaten, Gillespie persisted. The enraged deputy shot him. The gunshot drew a crowd. Rumors spread that Gillespie had been shot in the back; he later recovered. Other deputies detained ex-GI poll-watchers in a polling place, as that made the ballot counting "public." A crowd gathered. Sheriff Mansfield told his deputies to disperse the crowd. When the two ex-GIs smashed a big window and escaped, the crowd surged forward. The deputies, with guns drawn, formed a tight half-circle around the front of the polling place. One deputy, "his gun raised high...shouted: 'If you sons of bitches cross this street I'll kill you!'"
Mansfield took the ballot boxes to the jail for counting. The deputies seemed to fear immediate attack by the "people who had just liberated Europe and the South Pacific from two of the most powerful war machines in human history"
Short of firearms and ammunition, the GIs scoured the county to find them. By borrowing keys to the National Guard and State Guard armories, they got three M1 Garand rifles, five .45 semi-automatic pistols and 24 British Enfield rifles. The armories were nearly empty after the war's end. By 8 p.m. a group of GIs and "local boys" headed for the jail but left the back door unguarded to give the jail's defenders an easy way out.
Three GIs alerting passersby to danger were fired on from the jail. Two GIs were wounded. Other GIs returned fire.
Firing subsided after 30 minutes; ammunition ran low and night had fallen. Thick brick walls shielded those inside the jail. Absent radios, the GIs' rifle fire was uncoordinated. "From the hillside fire rose and fell in disorganized cascades. More than anything else, people were simply shooting at the jail"
Several who ventured into the street in front of the jail were wounded. One man inside the jail was badly hurt; he recovered. Most sheriff's deputies wanted to hunker down and await rescue. Governor McCord mobilized the State Guard, perhaps to scare the GIs into withdrawing. The State Guard never went to Athens. McCord may have feared that Guard units filled with ex-GIs might not fire on other ex-GIs.
At about 2 a.m. on August 2, the GIs forced the issue. Men from Meigs County threw dynamite sticks and damaged the jail's porch. The panicked deputies surrendered. GIs quickly secured the building. Paul Cantrell faded into the night, having almost been shot by a GI who knew him, but whose .45 pistol had jammed. Mansfield's deputies were kept overnight in jail for their own safety. Calm soon returned. The GIs posted guards. The rifles borrowed from the armory were cleaned and returned before sunup.

• Category

  Education

[nebraskapatriot01]

And the American Militias will rise against tyranny weather Federal, or local. Americans! you are the Militia!

[Beesnchickens]

If you vote then the government will win. You are no more than livestock to the government. Now get back to work and pay yur taxes!

[bamboo4tameshigiri]

Those were real men. Amazing.

[LivingCrusader]

I recently bought this movie on hallmark.com. It's called An American Story.

[AnthonyTotheRescue]

If this happened today with today's young men, the federal government would've sent the national guard armed to the teeth in riot gear and full auto weaponry before gunning them down and covering them up as "right-wing extremists".

Disgusting.

[Martial0241]

Every 10 minutes another farmer with a shotgun shows up.. HILARIOUS!

Too bad they didn't have some Brownings, they got the job done though.

[Comoloid]

I have several thousand rounds the gun grabbers can have 1st.

[Comoloid]

Nothing a good gov enema can't fix. Gun control means don't miss.

[ED FRED]

Is this why the government does not trust law abiding citizens with the second amendment?

[supergrover6868]

The actaul event is documented on the Tenn. Historical website. There is far more to this story. It is a well detialed minitue account and explains this action in relation to similar situations that were occuring in the nation at the exact same time. Plz take the time to study the real hisotry behind this drama. It is even more effective then this show is.

[free00to00ryhme]

at the same time, if you dont vote at all, then they still win. they will be free to make up their numbers. but if you do vote, and you put your own candidates up for election, like the veterans in this video, and you make sure its a fair count, then we the people can win. we just have to unite and organize.

[MaendelWealthMgmt]

PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY? Discuss! More than 1,000 Green Berets penned a letter today about Second Amendment rights, detailing why the elite military unit members feel all Americans should be concerned about preserving the right to bear arms.. They used the 1946 Battle of Athens Tennessee to illustrate the need for weapons for protection from both tyranny & other dangers.