On March 28, 1864, a gunfight erupted in Charleston between Union soldiers and Civil War opponents known as copperheads. In eastern Illinois the Republicans were uniformly pro-Union, but many Democrats were pro-Southern. Disturbances had occurred earlier in the area, and copperheads had been killed in Mattoon and Paris. At Charleston there had been a highly controversial trial of Union deserters in March, 1863. On the day of the riot in 1864, a large crowd gathered for a Democratic rally, and Union soldiers were in town on leave. Drinking and fighting led to gunfire, leaving nine men dead and twelve wounded.