John Quincy Dickinson

Dickinson was born in Benson, Vermont, on November 26, 1836, to Isaac and Cornelia (née Coleman) Dickinson. In 1860, he graduated from Middlebury College and later worked as a political reporter for the Rutland Herald. in 1860 ==Career==

During the American Civil War, Dickinson fought for the Union and served in the 7th Vermont Infantry Regiment, joining in November 1861. Jackson County War After the Civil War, Jackson County was plagued by violence as Confederate veterans and KKK members attacked and intimidated freedmen and their sympathizers. The county faced the worst economic conditions in the state, as it had been most extensively developed for cotton plantations before the war, and was adversely affected by the international decline in the market. In 1869, tensions broke out into violence and Jackson County became the center of a guerrilla war that extended through 1871; it became known as the Jackson County War. The local Ku Klux Klan and Confederate Army veterans directed their violence at eradicating the Republican Party in the county, assassinating more than 150 Republican Party leaders and other prominent African Americans as part of a successful campaign to retain white Democratic power in the county. Another source says that in Jackson County, 200 "leading Republicans" were assassinated in 1869 and 1870 alone; no one was arrested or brought to trial for these crimes. ==Assassination==

One month before his assassination, Dickinson authored a letter to Secretary of State Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, writing: "I hardly think it possible for me to get through with another election with my head on my shoulders." On April 3, 1871, Dickinson was walking home from work when a group of unknown assassins fired 13-14 buckshot rounds at him in Marianna, Florida. He was shot multiple times in his stomach and chest before one assassin approached Dickinson's body and shot him in his heart, killing Dickinson at approximately 9:00 p.m. (EST). At the time of his death, Dickinson was the last Republican politician in Jackson County. His murder drew condemnation across the nation and crowds of mourners in Florida and Vermont gathered to pay their respects. He was buried in Benson, Vermont. ==References==