WAR OF 1812 – Riot in Baltimore Extract of a Letter from Baltimore, dated July 28 [Boston, 1812].
WAR OF 1812 – Riot in Baltimore Extract of a Letter from Baltimore, dated July 28 [Boston, 1812]. The first of a long line of attacks on newspapers: “The assailants then burst open the door, when those within were ordered to fire, and three of four of the ringleaders were instantly levelled to the ground,” printed on a striking black-bordered Federalist broadside. A forceful Federalist response to the mob attack on the offices of the Federal-Republican in Baltimore, long hostile to the Madison administration. The largely Republican population of Baltimore had become increasingly irritated with the staunch-Federalist paper’s attacks on the Madison Administration – attacks that only grew increasingly shrill following the declaration of war against Great Britain in June 1812. On 22 June, a partisan mob pulled down the paper’s offices on Gay Street, compelling the publishers to decamp to the less volatile Georgetown where they continued to print the newspaper. Not to be cowed by threats of violence, one of the publishers defiantly opened a branch office in Baltimore the following month – much to the fury of Baltimore Republicans. On the night of 28 July 1812, another mob gathered outside of the Charles Street house and began to attack the building: The text of the broadside opens with a nod to the June riot: “The first assault on the Federal Republican office, was but a face compared to the one last night... About 10 o’clock the mob made their appearance, and commenced the attack by throwing a volley of brickbats at the windows, to which no return was made from within... The assailants then burst open the door, when those within were ordered to fire, and three of four of the ringleaders were instantly levelled to the ground...” The rioters outside responded brining a cannon, “a 9 pounder,” from one of the local artillery companies but were prevented from firing by the appearance of a body of mounted soldiers who intervened and took the Federalist defenders into protective custody. Below the text describing the event are two columns of verse decrying the attack. An excellent piece that underscores the bitter political feuding that marked the opening of the War of 1812. Rare: we could trace only one other extant copy of this broadside, in the collections of the American Antiquarian Society. Paul A. Gilje, “The Baltimore Riots of 1812 and the Breakdown of the Anglo-American Mob Tradition,” Journal of Social History, (Summer 1980), pp. 547-564. Broadside (315 x 200 mm.), black bordered. (Losses at right margin affect one letter of text and black border infilled, toned.)
WAR OF 1812 – Riot in Baltimore Extract of a Letter from Baltimore, dated July 28 [Boston, 1812].
WAR OF 1812 – Riot in Baltimore Extract of a Letter from Baltimore, dated July 28 [Boston, 1812]. The first of a long line of attacks on newspapers: “The assailants then burst open the door, when those within were ordered to fire, and three of four of the ringleaders were instantly levelled to the ground,” printed on a striking black-bordered Federalist broadside. A forceful Federalist response to the mob attack on the offices of the Federal-Republican in Baltimore, long hostile to the Madison administration. The largely Republican population of Baltimore had become increasingly irritated with the staunch-Federalist paper’s attacks on the Madison Administration – attacks that only grew increasingly shrill following the declaration of war against Great Britain in June 1812. On 22 June, a partisan mob pulled down the paper’s offices on Gay Street, compelling the publishers to decamp to the less volatile Georgetown where they continued to print the newspaper. Not to be cowed by threats of violence, one of the publishers defiantly opened a branch office in Baltimore the following month – much to the fury of Baltimore Republicans. On the night of 28 July 1812, another mob gathered outside of the Charles Street house and began to attack the building: The text of the broadside opens with a nod to the June riot: “The first assault on the Federal Republican office, was but a face compared to the one last night... About 10 o’clock the mob made their appearance, and commenced the attack by throwing a volley of brickbats at the windows, to which no return was made from within... The assailants then burst open the door, when those within were ordered to fire, and three of four of the ringleaders were instantly levelled to the ground...” The rioters outside responded brining a cannon, “a 9 pounder,” from one of the local artillery companies but were prevented from firing by the appearance of a body of mounted soldiers who intervened and took the Federalist defenders into protective custody. Below the text describing the event are two columns of verse decrying the attack. An excellent piece that underscores the bitter political feuding that marked the opening of the War of 1812. Rare: we could trace only one other extant copy of this broadside, in the collections of the American Antiquarian Society. Paul A. Gilje, “The Baltimore Riots of 1812 and the Breakdown of the Anglo-American Mob Tradition,” Journal of Social History, (Summer 1980), pp. 547-564. Broadside (315 x 200 mm.), black bordered. (Losses at right margin affect one letter of text and black border infilled, toned.)
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