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Illustration - Pratt Street Massacre

Pratt Street Incident

(From Jackson’s Option)

One by one, the cars were hauled down Pratt Street. With each passing car, the crowd became more vocal, more angry, and more disposed to violence. By the time Co. K arrived in the seventh car, pistol shots were added to the pelting of stones and bottles. In addition to three soldiers who were wounded by broken glass, a fourth had his thumb shot off.

The eighth car could not progress beyond the intersection of Gay and Pratt Streets because of a barricade created of sand, cobblestones, and two large ships anchors. The driver quickly unhitched his horses from the front of the car, re-hitched them at the car’s rear, and hastily returned to President Street. As a result, two hundred men from the 6th Massachusetts, plus their band and the Pennsylvania volunteers were cut off from the rest of the men who still were at President Street.

Determined to join the rest of the regiment at Camden Station, Captain Follansbee, the senior officer remaining at President Street, decided to march the troops to their destination. As soon as the march began, a Southern patriot hoisted the Palmetto flag that symbolized secession at the head of the column. Pro-Unionists trying to avenge the insult to the troops nearly destroyed the Rebel flag before being forcibly removed from the fray by their opponents.

With the pro-Unionists momentarily silenced, the mob began stoning the soldiers as they reached Fawn Street. Several men fell before they reached Pratt Street. When Follansbee ordered a double-quick step to outdistance the mob to push them across the Jones Falls Bridge and onto Pratt Street, the incident approached its peak. Francis X. Ward, a civilian, and Sumner Needham of Co. L were killed at that location.

On reaching the intersection of South and Pratt Streets, and slowing down at the request of Mayor Brown, who had rushed to the scene, the soldiers began firing in all directions. By the time the soldiers reached Charles Street, two more soldiers were dead and about three dozen were wounded. Several civilians were reported killed or wounded with each volley from the Union troops.

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