Reading Railroad Massacre

Reading Railroad Massacre
Part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877
A contemporary illustration of
"The Scene After the First Volley"
DateJuly 23, 1877
Location
Reading, Pennsylvania
Resulted inPeace restored after two days, Lebanon Valley Branch bridge burned, seven convicted of the bridge burning, three others convicted, five companies of the 16th Regiment disbanded for cowardice and insubordination
Casualties and losses
Civilians
  Deaths: 10–16
  Injuries: 37–50
  Arrests: 100
Military
  Deaths: 0
  Injuries:
     20-203 total
     2–31 badly

The Reading Railroad Massacre occurred on July 23, 1877, when strikes in Reading, Pennsylvania, led to an outbreak of violence, during which 10 to 16 people were killed and between 20 and 203 were injured. It was the climax of local events during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 towards the end of the Long Depression of 1873–1879, following arson and riots against local facilities of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway.

Units of the Pennsylvania State Militia were brought in by train. Near nightfall, one unit was marched into the Seventh Street Cut, a man-made ravine three blocks long with 20-or-30-foot (6.1 or 9.1 m) walls, to free a train that had been stopped by rioters. The soldiers were bombarded from above with bricks, stones, and gunshots, and some of the soldiers fired rifle volleys into a crowd at the far end of the Cut. Between 10 and 16 civilian deaths resulted, along with dozens of injuries. Most rioting ended that night, and tense quiet prevailed the next day. Ultimately, the arrival of federal troops restored order to Reading. A coroner's inquest following the massacre did not blame the militia for the deaths, but pointed to the overall upheaval in the city at the time. Blame was laid upon the local sheriff for failing to keep the public order.

  1. ^ "The Mob Fired on at Reading". The New York Times. July 24, 1877. p. 201 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ McCabe & Winslow 1877, pp. 185–189.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Affairs at Reading". The New York Times. July 28, 1877. p. 234 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Dacus 1877, p. 213.
  6. ^ McCabe & Winslow 1877, p. 177.
  7. ^ a b Report of the Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots 1878, p. 27.
  8. ^ Pennsylvania Adjutant-General's Office 1877, p. 77.
  9. ^ Brecher 2014, p. 24.
  10. ^ Dacus 1877, p. 209.
  11. ^ Manweller, Mathew (March 19, 2012). Chronology of the U.S. Presidency [4 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 610. ISBN 9781598846461. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  12. ^ Rogers, Karl (2011). Debunking Glenn Beck: How to Save America from Media Pundits and Propagandists. ABC-CLIO. p. 85. ISBN 9781440800290. Retrieved May 23, 2018.


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