The First Battles: April 1861 to February 1862One Special Young Man |
What was the Baltimore riot of 1861? |
Baltimore was known as one of the most contentious cities in the nation. Back in 1812, there had been a mob attack on a newspaper headquarters: one of the persons badly injured that day was Light Horse Harry Lee, father of Robert E. But things were much worse in 1861, thanks to Baltimore’s position as the northernmost of all southern places and the southernmost of all northern ones.
Citizens of Baltimore attacked federal troops on April 19, 1861, in what is now called the Baltimore Riot. The attacks were particularly troubling because of the anti-federal feelings they showed in a city so close to Capitol Hill.