Baltimore Riot Trail

On April 19, 1861, Confederate sympathizers in Baltimore attacked Capt. Albert S. Follansbee's four companies of the 6th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment as they marched along Pratt Street to Camden Station to change trains for Washington, which secessionists hoped to isolate. A mob hurling stones and bricks assaulted the troops, and just east of here the harassed soldiers finally opened fire as the violence reached a crescendo. Massachusetts Corps. Sumner H. Needham was struck in the head, fell to the pavement, and died after earlier telling a comrade that he expected trouble and would never get out alive. Pvt. Luther C. Ladd was shot and killed, proclaiming "All Hail to the Stars & Stripes" as he collapsed. The mob shot Addison Whitney dead and beat Charles Taylor to death. The rest of the soldiers marched at the double-quick down Pratt Street, dragging their muskets between their legs and reloading as they ran. Baltimore Mayor George W. Brown, learning of the riot, hastened first to Camden Station, then toward Pratt Street, where he met Follansbee near the head of the marching column, told him, "You must defend yourselves," picked up a dropped musket, and threatened the mob. Police Marshal George P. Kane and a company of policemen soon arrived and held the crowd at bay as Kane shouted, "Keep back, men, or I shoot!"

Baltimore, Maryland · United States