Nightrider (Noun)
Meaning
Member of a secret mounted band in United States South after the American Civil War; committed acts of intimidation and revenge.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- As the moon cast an eerie glow, a group of freed slaves knew the nightrider was likely to be on the prowl.
- Reconstruction officials reported that several African American homes were vandalized, and suspected that the perpetrators were members of the notorious local nightrider group.
- Carrying whips and masked, the band of nightriders thundered down the main street, wreaking havoc and causing many townspeople to cower.
- Evidence suggests that ex-Confederate veterans played key roles as nightriders in campaigns to disfranchise freed slaves through acts of terrorism and economic reprisal.
- Unintimidated, Federal occupation troops dispersed and sometimes attacked these outlawed gangs, jailing captured nightriders, bringing respite to African Americans previously traumatized.