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ITALIAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
Italians Lynched in Tallulah Are Honored with Historical Marker at Gravesite On a July night in Tallulah, Louisiana, Dr. J. Ford Hodge shot and killed a goat that had wandered into his garden. The following day—July 20, 1899—Pasquale Di Fatta approached Hodge about having killed his goat. Hodge knocked Pasquale to the ground and began striking him with the gun in his hand. He pointed the muzzle at Pasquale’s head and pulled the trigger. But the gun jammed. Meanwhile, Pasquale’s brother, Giuseppe, ran out of the family’s local grocery, shotgun in hand. He aimed and fired at Hodge. The birdshot pellets from the shotgun hit Hodge in the abdomen and thighs, causing only minor injuries. In spite of this, rumor quickly spread through town that Hodge had been murdered. A mob formed and hunted down the Di Fatta brothers. One bar owner even offered free drinks to anyone who took part in killing the brothers. The mob lynched both Pasquale and Giuseppe in a slaughter yard. Then the mob turned its attention to their younger brother Francesco, cousin Rosario Fiduccia, and brother-in-law Giovanni Cirami, putting their heads through nooses as well. According to one witness, Francesco said, “I live here six years. I know you all. You all my friends.” Then the rope was pulled. After all five men died, the mob then shot at their bodies until they were no longer recognizable. Meanwhile, part of the mob pursued three other family members living in the nearby town of Milliken’s Bend. However, the men were able to escape by boat across the Mississippi River to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
One hundred and twenty-two years later—on Friday, March 19, 2021—the State of Mississippi and City of Vicksburg recognized the five Italian men with a Mississippi State Historical Marker that was dedicated at their burial site. The historical marker was sponsored by three descendants of Giuseppe Di Fatta—Antoinette Fatta Helton, Deborah Helton Flores, and Linda Fatta Ott—to ensure that the men will never be forgotten. Father Rusty Vincent of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Vicksburg blessed the burial site.
Following the lynching, no arrests were made. The Italian Society of Vicksburg and the Italian Counsel Agent, Natale Piazza, believed that the victims should not be buried in the soil on which they were murdered. They instead arranged to have them interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg—a little more than 20 miles from Tallulah—on July 28, 1899. SUMMER 2021
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Linda Fatta Ott officiated the ceremony and remarked how her grandfather, Nicolo Di Fatta (Nick Fatta), anguished over the fact that his father, Giuseppe, never received a proper Catholic burial. Having passed away in 1967, Nick can now finally rest in peace as well. “Nick would be very proud of this ceremony and what the marker represents,” Linda said.
Pasquale Di Fatta
More than 60 people gathered at the gravesite to honor the five Italian men. This included their descendents, Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs, Jr., Tallulah Mayor Charles Finlayson, fellow Italian Americans, historians, ITALIAN AMERICA
