Baltimore Riot of 1861

Baltimore riot of 1861
Part of the American Civil War
Massachusetts Militia Passing Through Baltimore, an 1861 engraving of the Baltimore riot
Date April 19, 1861 Location Baltimore, Maryland Result Confederate sympathizers ultimately suppressed Union troops advance into Washington, D.C.
Belligerents
United States (Union) 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Baltimore Police Department	Confederate sympathizers National Volunteers
Commanders and leaders
Col. Edward F. Jones	None
Casualties and losses
4 killed, 36 wounded	12 killed, unknown wounded

Confederate sympathizers ultimately suppressed

United States (Union)

Confederate sympathizers

The Baltimore riot of 1861 (also called the Pratt Street Riot and the Pratt Street Massacre) was a conflict on April 19, 1861, in Baltimore, Maryland, between antiwar Democrats (the largest party in Maryland), as well as Confederate sympathizers, and members of the Massachusetts militia en route to Washington for Federal service. It produced the first deaths by hostile action in the American Civil War.

In 1861, most Baltimoreans were anti-war, and did not support a violent conflict with their southern neighbors. Many sympathized passionately with the Southern cause. In the previous year's presidential election, Abraham Lincoln had received only 1,100 of more than 30,000 votes cast in the city. Lincoln's opponents were infuriated (and supporters disappointed) when the president-elect, fearing an assassination plot, traveled secretly through the city in February en route to his inauguration. The city was also home to the country's largest population (25,000) of free African Americans, as well as many white abolitionists and supporters of the Union. As the war began, the city's divided loyalties created tension. Supporters of secession and slavery organized themselves into a force called "National Volunteers" while Unionists and abolitionists called themselves "Minute Men."

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