Baltimore riot of 1861

Baltimore riot of 1861
Part of the American Civil War
"Massachusetts Militia Passing Through Baltimore", an 1861 engraving of the Baltimore Civil War riots
Date April 19, 1861 Location Baltimore, Maryland Result Maryland pro-Confederate/Southern sympathizers ultimately suppressed pro-Union, state militia troops' advance into Washington, D.C.
Belligerents
United States (Union) 6th Massachusetts Militia Washington Brigade of Philadelphia – Pennsylvania state militia Baltimore City Police Department	Pro-Southern/Confederate Maryland sympathizers Maryland Copperhead Democrats National volunteers (unorganized recruited soldiers/Southern sympathizers)
Commanders and leaders
Col. Edward F. Jones	None
Casualties and losses
5 (soldiers) killed, 36 wounded	12 (civilians) killed, unknown hundreds wounded

The Baltimore riot of 1861 (also called the "Pratt Street Riots" and the "Pratt Street Massacre") was a civil conflict on Friday, April 19, 1861, on Pratt Street, in Baltimore, Maryland. It occurred between antiwar "Copperhead" Democrats (the largest party in Maryland) and other Southern/Confederate sympathizers on one side, and on the other, members of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania state militia regiments en route to the national capital at Washington who had been called up for federal service. The fighting began at the President Street Station, spreading throughout President Street and subsequently to Howard Street, where it ended at the Camden Street Station. The riot produced the first deaths of Union volunteers by hostile action, although caused by civilians, in the American Civil War. Civilians among the attackers also were killed.