The 1834 Mob Attack
This story describes the violent attacks of a white mob on innocent Black people and their property in 1834.
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Histories of this mob attack frame it as a race riot around job competition between Irish and Black laborers, as a powder keg of anger that burst unexpectedly. However, the newspaper records immediately after the event reveal a coordinated planned terror attack on the Black community, with particular emphasis not on labor sites, but on homes, churches and halls.
It wasn't just one day, either. Due to the slow response by authorities, the Black community endured 4 days of indiscriminate mob violence, up to and including murder. This included:
- 2 Black churches attacked, 1 destroyed completely.
- Over 40 Black owned homes wrecked, with all furniture destroyed, property stolen, and residents attacked.
- Stephen James was killed.
- A woman was raped.
- Another man died trying to swim across the Schuylkill.
- Hundreds of people lived in the surrounding woods for weeks, afraid to return home.
Other histories of this attack have focused on the perpetrators and their reasons for becoming violent. This history is different. It draws from the local papers and accounts and presents them without academic analysis, just as they occurred.
This history focuses on the people...and what they lost.
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August 9, 1834
August 9, 1834. Click to expand.
FORESHADOW
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August 11, 1834
August 11, 1834. Click to expand.
APPEAL TO AUTHORITIES
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A Fictionalized Version of These Same Events, Exists
A Fictionalized Version of These Same Events, Exists. Click to expand.
These events are hinted in the novel The Garies and Their Friends, written by Frank Webb in 1854. Frank Webb grew up in The Black Metropolis, and he and his friends and family experienced the mob attacks first hand. Mary Maillard suggests that the book is more historical fiction (based on actual events) than a purely fictional novel.
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Fight at the Flying Horses Carousel
Fight at the Flying Horses Carousel. Click to expand.
The Flying Horses carousel was located at 7th and South street, and was housed in a wooden temporary structure.
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DAY 1: August 12, 1834
DAY 1: August 12, 1834. Click to expand.
A mob of hundreds of young white men and boys assemble at an open lot next to Pennsylvania Hospital.
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Thomas Shipley (assumed) Provides Counter-Intelligence
Thomas Shipley (assumed) Provides Counter-Intelligence. Click to expand.
Edward Abdy reported that a white Quaker friend of the Black community infiltrated the mob and provided intelligence about their intentions to local authorities.
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The Mob Marches down 7th, Attacking Black People
The Mob Marches down 7th, Attacking Black People. Click to expand.
The mob begins to march down 7th street on the way to the Flying Horses, and begins to indiscriminately attack Black people on the street.
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The Mob Tears Down the Flying Horses
The Mob Tears Down the Flying Horses. Click to expand.
The mob destroys the Flying Horses Carousel and Building.
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The Mob Attacks the Home of a Black Family
The Mob Attacks the Home of a Black Family. Click to expand.
South Street was the border between what was then called 'City' - North of South Street, and 'Moyamensing' - South of South Street.
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White Homes Were Spared
White Homes Were Spared. Click to expand.
White people knew to place candles in their windows to indicate to the mob that their home was occupied by white people.
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Bedford Street Attack
Bedford Street Attack. Click to expand.
On Bedford street (now Kater street), the mob proceeds to break windows and doors, to enter into homes, pull people out of their beds, destroy furniture, destroy china, beat up residents, and steal valuable goods.
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The Black Community Begins to Defend Itself
The Black Community Begins to Defend Itself. Click to expand.
A battle occurs on South street between 400-500 people. Black men begin to fight the mob.
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DAY 2: August 13, 1834
DAY 2: August 13, 1834. Click to expand.
At 11 pm, the mob assembled at 7th and Shippen (Bainbridge).
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First African Presbyterian Church is Attacked
First African Presbyterian Church is Attacked. Click to expand.
The mob attacks First African Presbyterian Church, destroying all the windows, and damaging the building.
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Small Street Residents Defend Their Homes
Small Street Residents Defend Their Homes. Click to expand.
Some Small Street (Kater street) residents decided to stay on and defend their homes.
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A Similar Scene in The Garies and Their Friends
A Similar Scene in The Garies and Their Friends. Click to expand.
In The Garies and Their Friends, a fictionalized historical rendition of events in this time period written in 1857, a house is barricaded and the inhabitants defend the house from the mob.
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The Homes of Mr. Fitzgerald and Mrs. Moore are Attacked. "They left him but one chair and a stove."
The Homes of Mr. Fitzgerald and Mrs. Moore are Attacked. "They left him but one chair and a stove.". Click to expand.
Near 5th street, 3 Small Street belonging to Mr. Fitzgerald and 5 Small Street belonging to Mrs. Moore had windows and furniture destroyed and property stolen.
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Woman Escapes in Night Clothes with Two Children and Seeks Refuge in a School
Woman Escapes in Night Clothes with Two Children and Seeks Refuge in a School. Click to expand.
A woman escapes her home with two children, one of whom was badly injured and bleeding. Having risen from her sleep, she was still in her bedcloths and she burst into a local night school and demanded refuge.
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Woman in Mourning 'treated barbarously' in her Home, After Dead Baby Thrown on the Floor
Woman in Mourning 'treated barbarously' in her Home, After Dead Baby Thrown on the Floor. Click to expand.
A woman was in her home. Evidently she had recently experienced deaths in the family because there was a dead man in a coffin, and a dead baby on the bed.
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Elderly Woman Hides in a Closet and Recognizes One of Her Attackers
Elderly Woman Hides in a Closet and Recognizes One of Her Attackers. Click to expand.
An elderly woman hid in a closet of her house while she watched the mob destroy everything she owned. She recognized a man she washed for and reported him to authorities.
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290, 291 and 292 7th Street Damaged
290, 291 and 292 7th Street Damaged. Click to expand.
Multiple homes owned by Black people (recall that white people placed a white candle in the window to signal to the mob not to attack) are attacked.
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Charles Akers Home Attacked
Charles Akers Home Attacked. Click to expand.
All the windows and furniture of Charles Akers' three story brick house were destroyed.
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Levin Drake's Shoemaker's Shop Damaged
Levin Drake's Shoemaker's Shop Damaged. Click to expand.
209 Shippen, a two story building had windows and furniture destroyed.
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Mr. Butler's Three Story Brick House Damaged
Mr. Butler's Three Story Brick House Damaged. Click to expand.
This home was owned and occupied by Mr. Butler, Mr. Green and two other familes.
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217 Shippen, Home of Master Chimney Sweeper John Nicholson, 'treated with uncommon severity'
217 Shippen, Home of Master Chimney Sweeper John Nicholson, 'treated with uncommon severity'. Click to expand.
Here the mob was particularly destructive.
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Windows of 7 Homes on Warner's Court Completely Demolished
Windows of 7 Homes on Warner's Court Completely Demolished. Click to expand.
These were substantial 3 story brick homes that were attacked.
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The House and Belongings of an Elderly Man who had been Enslaved by George Washington, Destroyed
The House and Belongings of an Elderly Man who had been Enslaved by George Washington, Destroyed. Click to expand.
Daniel Williamson, age 95, watched helplessly as his 2 story house was destroyed.
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Stephen James, Beat Almost To Death, While His Family Watches. Dies A Week Later.
Stephen James, Beat Almost To Death, While His Family Watches. Dies A Week Later. . Click to expand.
50 year old Stephen James, who had limited mobility due to a prior injury, was beaten by the mob.
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The Homes of Samuel Combigbee and Miles White are Attacked.
The Homes of Samuel Combigbee and Miles White are Attacked.. Click to expand.
More destruction ensued as the mob moved down Baker's Court.
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Mr. Moor's House Completely Ravaged "as if to make kindling for wood."
Mr. Moor's House Completely Ravaged "as if to make kindling for wood.". Click to expand.
Everything in the Moor house was destroyed.
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12 Homes on Fitzwater Court Attacked
12 Homes on Fitzwater Court Attacked. Click to expand.
12 homes on Fitzwater Court were attacked, windows destroyed, furniture turned into small pieces.
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Man Dies Swimming Across the River
Man Dies Swimming Across the River. Click to expand.
Fearing for their lives, a man and his wife, decide to swim with their infant across the Schuylkill river to seek refuge outside of the City. However, the man died swimming across.
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Emergency Shelters Set Up in Camden
Emergency Shelters Set Up in Camden. Click to expand.
Hundreds of people fled to Camden and an emergency triage was set up there.
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Black Residents flee to The Alms House, or Sleep in the Woods
Black Residents flee to The Alms House, or Sleep in the Woods. Click to expand.
Edward Abdy describes how Black people fled for their lives in fear. Some people lived in woods and fields surrounding the city for weeks after the attack. Others sought refuge in the Alms House though they were initially refused by the mayor. An unidentified "doctor" appealed to the mayor and the mayor let them in.
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DAY 3 - August 14, 1834
DAY 3 - August 14, 1834. Click to expand.
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On Vernon Street, 9 Homes were Attacked
On Vernon Street, 9 Homes were Attacked. Click to expand.
After the church was torn down, the mob moved to Vernon Street. The furniture and windows of nine homes were destroyed.
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August 15, 1834
August 15, 1834. Click to expand.
DAY 4
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Prince Hall Hiram Lodge Prepares for Battle
Prince Hall Hiram Lodge Prepares for Battle. Click to expand.
By this point, the Black community had endured 3 days of continued destruction. The mob who had also sent three police to the hospital, were decidedly after Benezet Hall. And this even in the presence of a full blown activation of the Posse Comitatus, which was something like a National Guard response.