The Knights of the White Camellia

        It was a secret society similar to the Ku Klux Klan; however, it was founded in the deeper south. The group also wanted to regain "White Supremacy," but the group targeted towards the carpetbaggers, who had gone South to aid the freedmen during the Reconstruction Era. It was organized in New Orleans in May 1857 and later it spread throughout the lower South, reaching as far west as Texas and far east as the Carolinas. They avoided publicity and their plans were kept more secret,distinguishing them from the Ku Klux Klan. Also their methods weren't as violent as the Klansman. The Knights of the White Camellia were larger in population and held a higher status in society than the Ku Klux Klan. In other ways they were counterparts to the Klan, for they had a long and detailed ritual ceremony and their routines included signs, grips, and passwords. Their symbol a white camellia flower, symbolized the purity of the white race. There were many racial terrorizing groups during the Reconstruction Era and growing later on into the twentieth Century. Believe it or not these secret societies still exist today but have decreased in size and power. 

Knights of the White Camellia Symbol.Photograph.n.d. Patch Knights of the White Camellia
Web.05 Jan.14.