Hayes Pond therefore entered folklore as well as history.

The factual event and the symbolic event reinforced each other.

The Klan had been routed.

The story of the rout became another form of resistance.

Why No One Dying Matters

The absence of fatalities is one of the most important facts about Hayes Pond.

It allows the event to be remembered as a triumphant reversal rather than a massacre.

That outcome was far from guaranteed.

Weapons were present.

Shots were fired.