page_title: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877
section_title: Shooting
hierarchical_section_title: Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 / July 21 / Shooting
caption_attribution_description: English: An armed mob marching to the scene of action in pittsburgh, 1877
context_page_description: The Pittsburgh railway strike occurred in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It was one of many incidents of strikes, labor unrest and violence in cities across the United States, including several in Pennsylvania. Other cities dealing with similar unrest included Philadelphia, Reading, Shamokin and Scranton. The incidents followed repeated reductions in wages and sometimes increases in workload by railroad companies, during a period of economic recession following the Panic of 1873.
  Between July 21 and 22 in Pittsburgh, a major center of the Pennsylvania Railroad, some 40 people were killed in the ensuing riots; strikers burned the Union Depot and 38 other buildings at the yards. In addition, more than 120 train engines and more than 1,200 rail cars were destroyed. Due to track damage, trains did not run for a week following the cessation of violence. Estimates of losses ranged from $2 million to $5 million, according to the railroad company and an 1878 report by a state legislative investigative committee. Pittsburgh was the site of the most violence and physical damage of any city in the country during the Great Strike.
context_section_description: By the morning of Saturday the 21st, it had become clear that many of the Pittsburgh police and local militia had sided with the strikers and they refused to take action against them. Many of the troops ordered to muster at the rail yards never arrived. Some had relatives among the crowd, and many held sympathy for the workers.
  Adjutant General J. W. Latta ordered General Brinton along with his First Division, Pennsylvania National Guard, to report to Pittsburgh. At 3:00 am on the 21st, some 600 of their men set off from Philadelphia. They arrived between 1:00 pm and 1:45 pm, bringing two Gatling guns with them. It was hoped that these troops from the competing industrial city of Philadelphia, would be less sympathetic to the cause of the strikers. Twenty rounds of ammunition were distributed to each man.
  At 3:30 pm the order was given for the sheriff and his deputies, accompanied by National Guard troops, to move on the outer depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad, where a large mob had gathered, and arrest the group's leaders.
  At 28th Street, what troops did arrive found a crowd of 2,000, with another 10,000 nearby, along with the two additional regiments of city troops and one battery.
  Fife's attempts to serve his writs met with derision. He read the Riot Act and the troops set forth attempting to disperse the crowd. Some strikers attempted to wrest the rifles from the soldiers, and one was injured in the advance of bayonets. A cry arose of "Stick to it; give it to them; don't fall back!" and some protesters began to throw rocks and fire pistols at the troops; several men were injured, at least one seriously. The troops returned fire and used their bayonets, beginning with a single unordered shot, and continuing in a volley for nearly ten minutes. When the firing ceased, an estimated 20 men, women and children had been killed, with another 29 wounded.
  "The sight presented after the soldiers ceased firing was sickening," reported the New York Herald; the area "was actually dotted with the dead and dying." Within five minutes the mob had reformed, infuriated by the killings, although they did not again engage the soldiers.
caption: Mob marching to the scene of the action
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