Cincinnati Riots of 1884
Encyclopedia
The Cincinnati Riots of 1884, also known as the Cincinnati Courthouse Riots, were caused by public outrage over the decision of a jury to return a verdict of manslaughter
in a clear case of murder.
A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA attempted to find and lynch the perpetrator. In the violence that followed over the next few days, over 50 people died and the courthouse was destroyed. It was one of the most destructive riots in American history.
On December 24, 1883, a young German named William Berner and his accomplice, a mulatto named Joe Palmer, robbed and murdered their employer, a livery stable owner. The murderers dumped the body of their victim, William Kirk, near the Mill Creek
in Northside
. After the men had been arrested, 500 potential jurymen were called before Berner's lawyer accepted the jury of twelve. After a prolonged trial, on March 26, 1884 the jury returned a manslaughter verdict despite the testimony of seven different people to whom Berner had admitted his cold-blooded planning and execution of the murder.
The judge, who gave a sentence of 20 years in prison, called the verdict "a damned outrage." The next day, the newspapers called for a public meeting to condemn the verdict.
A New York Times article, dated March 27, 1884, reported that James Bourne, one of the jurors, had spent the previous night at Bremen-street police station after being threatened by a mob. Returning home on the morning of March 27, a crowd threatened to hang him but was dispersed by the police. Later he was severely beaten and was again taken to the police station for his own safety. Another member of the jury, Charles Dollahan, was pelted with rotten eggs and dared not return home. Louis Havemeyer was told he was fired when he went to work. A crowd tore the blinds from the house of L Phillips in Liberty street, and threw dead cats and rotten eggs through the windows before discovering they had the wrong Phillips, not a member of the jury.
The foreman of the jury, AF Shaw, had gone into hiding.
with four hundred men, prepared for trouble, ordering sections from each company to stay on guard at their Armory on Court Street, half a block from the courthouse.
That evening, several thousand people attended a meeting at Music Hall
in Over-the-Rhine
to protest the lenient sentence.
A large group of protesters then headed to the jail, apparently planning to lynch Berner.
Unknown to the rioters, Berner was not there.
He had been sent to Columbus, Ohio
for his own safety, and had escaped en route.
The Hamilton County Sheriff Morton Hawkins was also expecting trouble. He had thirteen deputies helping him guard the jail.
The rioters managed to break into the jail through the Sheriff's apartment, but left when they were shown that Berner was not present.
Then more rioters arrived.
The Sheriff had the alarms rung which had the effect of drawing yet more people to the scene.
The mob, now 10,000 strong, pelted the jail with bricks and stones. They overcame resistance by the guards and police reinforcements and managed to break in again. They were driven out by reinforcements from the National Guard Armory who entered the building via a tunnel from the courthouse. After one of the attackers was shot dead the violence escalated. Rioters attempted to set the jail on fire using stolen kerosene.
By the time the situation became temporarily under control late on Friday night, five people had died including one police officer and many more were wounded.
However, the civic leaders, who had at first supported the vigilante action, became alarmed. They suspected that the mob was led by socialists and anarchists, the "dangerous classes".
Although the Governor of Ohio, George Hoadly
, was asked to call for reinforcements, he moved slowly and did not order deployment of additional National Guard troops until 5 pm on the Saturday.
Many of the guards failed to report for duty. Some of the 1st regiment soldiers even participated in the riot.
The out of town soldiers, who did obey orders, were unable to reach Cincinnati in time to prevent escalating violence by rioters who had been paid that day, and had spent their money in the bars.
During the day, the defenders of the jail erected barriers in the surrounding streets, improvised from vehicles, construction materials, grindstones and barrels of salt.
The National Guard troops abandoned the armory and moved to the jail with all the arms and ammunition.
The jail was now extremely crowded and ill-equipped to feed the occupants.
Two to three hundred policemen were present, although they refused to play an active role in the fighting, as well as 117 local militiamen and the criminals resident in the jail.
In the evening, the mob gathered again in front of the courthouse and the jail. A gunfight broke out, lasting several hours. The crowd managed to set fire to the courthouse and blocked attempts by firemen to put out the blaze. The courthouse was destroyed. Rioters also started breaking into nearby stores. One store owner and his assistants shot three looters dead.
Eventually reinforcements started to arrive by train. A force of 300 National Guard troops from Dayton
met the crowd three blocks from the jail but then retreated back to the railway station. A more resolute force of 425 troops from Columbus arrived around 11 pm armed with a Gatling gun
, managing to clear the streets around the jail and courthouse. However, fighting continued elsewhere in the city until 3 in the morning.
The riots resumed later on Sunday despite growing numbers of troops. There was one more assault on the militia before calm returned to the city.
The Secretary of War Robert Lincoln had called out U.S. troops.
When they arrived, there was little for them to do apart from remaining on call in case of further trouble.
The rioters had returned to work and calm had been restored.
In the course of the riots, 56 people had died and over 300 had been wounded.
An editorial in the London Spectator
said "For once we find ourselves sympathising with rioters". The editor of the Chautauquan said of the incident "It tortures the conscience and the self-respect of honest men". The French author Victor Hugo
even compared the riot to the storming of the Bastille
, calling the rioters champions of justice and heroes.
The Dayton Daily Democrat made the same comparison as Hugo, but not in a flattering sense, when it called the mob a "Commune" and Cincinnati "the Paris of America". Harper's Weekly blamed the riots on the fact that intelligent citizens had ceded politics to venal politicians. The paper called for stronger laws with "swift, sure and solemn" execution, and said that if middle-class Americans were running government instead of corrupt special interests, incidents like the riots would not occur.
He had holed up in a house in the woods near Loveland
, where he was found playing a game of cards.
He was taken to the penitentiary in Columbus to serve his sentence.
The riots ended the régime of political bosses John R. McClean
and Thomas C. Campbell. Campbell faced disbarment proceedings, with William Howard Taft
as the junior prosecutor. However, they failed. Campbell left Cincinnati for New York.
A statue of William Desmond, a lawyer and captain of militia who was shot dead while trying to protect the courthouse, stands in the lobby of today's courthouse.
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
in a clear case of murder.
A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA attempted to find and lynch the perpetrator. In the violence that followed over the next few days, over 50 people died and the courthouse was destroyed. It was one of the most destructive riots in American history.
Background
Cincinnati in the 1880s was a tough industrial city with a rising crime rate due, in part, to general dissatisfaction with labor conditions. The Cincinnati police force had 300 men and 5 patrol wagons. In this period they arrested 50 people for murder, but only four were hanged. By January 1, 1884, there were twenty-three accused murderers in the jail. The political system was corrupt, with leaders notorious for controlling elections and manipulating judges and juries. A full page article published in the Cincinnati Enquirer on March 9, 1884, said: "Laxity of laws gives the Queen City of the West its crimson record. Preeminence in art, science, and industry avail nothing where murder is rampant and the lives of citizens are unsafe even in broad daylight."On December 24, 1883, a young German named William Berner and his accomplice, a mulatto named Joe Palmer, robbed and murdered their employer, a livery stable owner. The murderers dumped the body of their victim, William Kirk, near the Mill Creek
Mill Creek (Ohio)
The Mill Creek is a stream in southwest Ohio. It flows southwest and south from its headwaters in Liberty Township of Butler County through central Hamilton County and the heart of Cincinnati into the Ohio River just west of downtown...
in Northside
Northside, Cincinnati
Northside is a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was originally known as Cumminsville, but changed names to "Northside" several decades ago after I-74 divided the neighborhood into Northside and South Cumminsville...
. After the men had been arrested, 500 potential jurymen were called before Berner's lawyer accepted the jury of twelve. After a prolonged trial, on March 26, 1884 the jury returned a manslaughter verdict despite the testimony of seven different people to whom Berner had admitted his cold-blooded planning and execution of the murder.
The judge, who gave a sentence of 20 years in prison, called the verdict "a damned outrage." The next day, the newspapers called for a public meeting to condemn the verdict.
A New York Times article, dated March 27, 1884, reported that James Bourne, one of the jurors, had spent the previous night at Bremen-street police station after being threatened by a mob. Returning home on the morning of March 27, a crowd threatened to hang him but was dispersed by the police. Later he was severely beaten and was again taken to the police station for his own safety. Another member of the jury, Charles Dollahan, was pelted with rotten eggs and dared not return home. Louis Havemeyer was told he was fired when he went to work. A crowd tore the blinds from the house of L Phillips in Liberty street, and threw dead cats and rotten eggs through the windows before discovering they had the wrong Phillips, not a member of the jury.
The foreman of the jury, AF Shaw, had gone into hiding.
Friday March 28
Colonel C. B. Hunt, commanding the First Regiment of the Ohio National GuardOhio National Guard
The Ohio National Guard comprises:* Ohio Army National Guard* Ohio Air National Guard-External links:* compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
with four hundred men, prepared for trouble, ordering sections from each company to stay on guard at their Armory on Court Street, half a block from the courthouse.
That evening, several thousand people attended a meeting at Music Hall
Music Hall (Cincinnati)
Music Hall, completed in 1878, is Cincinnati's premier classical music performance hall. It serves as the home for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, May Festival Chorus, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. In January, 1975, it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark by the...
in Over-the-Rhine
Over-the-Rhine
Over-the-Rhine, sometimes shortened to OTR, is a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is believed to be the largest, most intact urban historic district in the United States. Over-the-Rhine was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 with 943 contributing buildings...
to protest the lenient sentence.
A large group of protesters then headed to the jail, apparently planning to lynch Berner.
Unknown to the rioters, Berner was not there.
He had been sent to Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
for his own safety, and had escaped en route.
The Hamilton County Sheriff Morton Hawkins was also expecting trouble. He had thirteen deputies helping him guard the jail.
The rioters managed to break into the jail through the Sheriff's apartment, but left when they were shown that Berner was not present.
Then more rioters arrived.
The Sheriff had the alarms rung which had the effect of drawing yet more people to the scene.
The mob, now 10,000 strong, pelted the jail with bricks and stones. They overcame resistance by the guards and police reinforcements and managed to break in again. They were driven out by reinforcements from the National Guard Armory who entered the building via a tunnel from the courthouse. After one of the attackers was shot dead the violence escalated. Rioters attempted to set the jail on fire using stolen kerosene.
By the time the situation became temporarily under control late on Friday night, five people had died including one police officer and many more were wounded.
Saturday March 29
The Cincinnati Enquirer supported the rioters in its Saturday morning edition, with a headline saying "At Last The People Are Aroused And Take The Law Into Their Own Hands, Enraged Community Rises In Its Might".However, the civic leaders, who had at first supported the vigilante action, became alarmed. They suspected that the mob was led by socialists and anarchists, the "dangerous classes".
Although the Governor of Ohio, George Hoadly
George Hoadly
George Hoadly was a Democratic politician. He served as the 36th Governor of Ohio.Hoadly was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on July 31, 1826...
, was asked to call for reinforcements, he moved slowly and did not order deployment of additional National Guard troops until 5 pm on the Saturday.
Many of the guards failed to report for duty. Some of the 1st regiment soldiers even participated in the riot.
The out of town soldiers, who did obey orders, were unable to reach Cincinnati in time to prevent escalating violence by rioters who had been paid that day, and had spent their money in the bars.
During the day, the defenders of the jail erected barriers in the surrounding streets, improvised from vehicles, construction materials, grindstones and barrels of salt.
The National Guard troops abandoned the armory and moved to the jail with all the arms and ammunition.
The jail was now extremely crowded and ill-equipped to feed the occupants.
Two to three hundred policemen were present, although they refused to play an active role in the fighting, as well as 117 local militiamen and the criminals resident in the jail.
In the evening, the mob gathered again in front of the courthouse and the jail. A gunfight broke out, lasting several hours. The crowd managed to set fire to the courthouse and blocked attempts by firemen to put out the blaze. The courthouse was destroyed. Rioters also started breaking into nearby stores. One store owner and his assistants shot three looters dead.
Eventually reinforcements started to arrive by train. A force of 300 National Guard troops from Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
met the crowd three blocks from the jail but then retreated back to the railway station. A more resolute force of 425 troops from Columbus arrived around 11 pm armed with a Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
, managing to clear the streets around the jail and courthouse. However, fighting continued elsewhere in the city until 3 in the morning.
Sunday March 30
The Cincinnati Enquirer changed its tune, and in its Sunday morning edition described "Fire and Fury, The Reign of Terror" and "Awful Scenes in Cincinnati".The riots resumed later on Sunday despite growing numbers of troops. There was one more assault on the militia before calm returned to the city.
The Secretary of War Robert Lincoln had called out U.S. troops.
When they arrived, there was little for them to do apart from remaining on call in case of further trouble.
The rioters had returned to work and calm had been restored.
In the course of the riots, 56 people had died and over 300 had been wounded.
Reactions
The public reaction in some quarters was sympathetic to the rioters. The Commercial Gazette published an editorial saying: "The time has come for taking an account for salvage for three days' of destruction and terror. First, we have saved our jailful of murderers. We have killed 45 innocent men and wounded or maimed 45 more, all to save our jailful of murderers…" The editorial went on to describe the riots as a "just, popular impulse against the prostration of laws before criminals". On March 31, reporting on the return of calm, the New York Times said there was a general feeling that the militia was responsible for the deaths. Their presence alone had excited the mob and they had been too ready to open fire.An editorial in the London Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
said "For once we find ourselves sympathising with rioters". The editor of the Chautauquan said of the incident "It tortures the conscience and the self-respect of honest men". The French author Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
even compared the riot to the storming of the Bastille
Storming of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris on the morning of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. While the prison only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint...
, calling the rioters champions of justice and heroes.
The Dayton Daily Democrat made the same comparison as Hugo, but not in a flattering sense, when it called the mob a "Commune" and Cincinnati "the Paris of America". Harper's Weekly blamed the riots on the fact that intelligent citizens had ceded politics to venal politicians. The paper called for stronger laws with "swift, sure and solemn" execution, and said that if middle-class Americans were running government instead of corrupt special interests, incidents like the riots would not occur.
Aftermath
Berner, the original cause of the trouble, was recaptured late on the Saturday afternoon.He had holed up in a house in the woods near Loveland
Loveland, Ohio
Loveland is a city in Hamilton, Clermont, and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Considered part of the Greater Cincinnati area, Loveland is located near exit 52 off Interstate 275, about northeast of the Cincinnati city limits. It borders Symmes, Miami and...
, where he was found playing a game of cards.
He was taken to the penitentiary in Columbus to serve his sentence.
The riots ended the régime of political bosses John R. McClean
John Roll McLean
John Roll McLean was the owner and publisher of The Washington Post and The Cincinnati Enquirer. McLean was also a one-time partner in the ownership of the Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team of the American Association and also the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the Union Association.He was born...
and Thomas C. Campbell. Campbell faced disbarment proceedings, with William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
as the junior prosecutor. However, they failed. Campbell left Cincinnati for New York.
A statue of William Desmond, a lawyer and captain of militia who was shot dead while trying to protect the courthouse, stands in the lobby of today's courthouse.