Baltimore Riots of 1812 Historical Marker

In June 1812, United States President James Madison and Congress declared war on Great Britain. The war was born out of several causes, but most notably the British policy of accosting and impressing American sailors and of supporting Native resistance to American westward expansion. An ardent member of the Democratic-Republican Party (often referred to simply as “Republicans”), President Madison believed that war with Britain was a political necessity, both to ensure British respect for American sovereignty and to bolster Republicans’ continued control of American government.

Though caught off-guard by the declaration, the Federalist Party coalesced around an anti-war platform. The Federalists believed war unnecessary, and that negotiations could diplomatically resolve disputes with Britain. Many predominantly Federalist areas, such as New England, enjoyed strong trade relations with Great Britain, and war could prove disastrous. Though New England was the great Federalist stronghold, they also attracted mild support throughout the Middle and Southern states.

In Maryland, the Baltimore Federal Republican served as the Federalist voice in the region. A popular newspaper, it was edited by Alexander Contee Hanson, the scion of a prominent local family. A staunch anti-war Federalist, Hanson used the Federal Republican to express his anti-war arguments. He called the war “unnecessary,” and thought Federalists should employ “every constitutional argument and every legal means” to end it.[4]

Although Alexander Hanson’s anti-war step was perfectly in step with wider Federalist thought, it was deeply unpopular in his hometown of Baltimore. The nation’s third largest city in 1812 (population 47,000) and rapidly growing, Baltimore was firmly Republican. The city harbored a large French and European émigré community that loathed Great Britain and viewed the Federalist anti-war platform with suspicion. Federalists were dubbed “traitors” and “Tories,” and Hanson and other local Federalists were threatened.

On the evening of June 20, 1812 (two days after war was declared), a mob formed outside the offices of the Federal Republican on Gay Street. Angry over Hanson’s anti-war editorials, the mob broke into and destroyed the newspaper’s offices. Baltimore Mayor Edward Johnson (a Republican) was on hand for the event but failed to prevent the officer’s destruction.

The June mob attack did not stop Alexander Hanson’s publication of the Federal Republican. “I shall be in Baltimore to assert my rights to effect,” he declared, and in late July he secured the use of a three-story brick building on Charles Street from which to resume publication of his paper. He did so with the full support of local Federalists. Several dozen offered to stay at the Charles Street offices for its protection. Included among the paper’s defenders were Revolutionary War Generals James M. Lingan and Henry “Light Horse” Harry Lee (father of future Confederate general Robert E. Lee).

The Federal Republican resumed publication on July 27. Hanson didn’t hold back. He lambasted the attack on his offices, blamed Republican leaders, and called the attack an attempt “to destroy the freedom of speech and of press…through a system of French revolutionary terror.” His scathing editorial was titled “Mobocracy.”[4]

On the evening of July 27, a mob once again formed in front of the Federal Republican’s new offices on Charles Street. This time, however, somewhere between 20 and 30 Federalist supporters were on hand to protect the building, and the Federalists managed to secure arms in their defense. The mob threw stones, taunting the Federalists to “Fire, fire, you damned tories! Fire! We are not afraid of you!”[4] The Federalists did indeed fire warning shots, but the mob continued in anger. At the urging of local doctor Thadeus Gale, the mob determined to rush the house. Battering down the door, Gale and others were met by the fire of the Federalists. Gale was slain, several more wounded, and the mob forced to retreat. The armed standoff continued.

City officials slowly and halfheartedly intervened. Militia eventually arrived and kept the mob from attacking the offices again (despite the arrival of a cannon for the mob’s use). As the standoff stretched into the morning, Mayor Johnson arrived and managed to convince the Federalists to surrender to authorities, where they could then be protected from the mob in the city jail. Despite Hanson’s misgivings, the Federalists accepted the offer, laid down their arms, and were escorted from Charles Street to the city jail.

Throughout the day on July 28, a mob lingered in front of the city jail. Republican newspapers called for vengeance against the “murderous traitors” who had slain Thadeus Gale. As night crept in, the mob again grew restless. A local laborer named George Wooleslager led the mob in attack on the city jail, crying “where are those murderous scoundrels…we must have them out; blood cries for blood!”[4] The mob broke into the jail (apparently let in from the inside) and dragged the Federalists out into the street. Although some escaped, many were not so fortunate. They were severely beaten, and several were stabbed. Women and children participated in the violence. Cried were heard, “We’ll root out the damn’d tories. We’ll drink their blood. We’ll eat their hearts.”[3]

Despite begging for his life, James M. Lingan was killed. Henry Lee never fully recovered from his injuries, remaining invalid until his death in 1818. Alexander Hanson suffered injuries to his spine, collarbones, head, hands, and a broken nose and fingers. His injuries cut his life short, and he died in 1819 at age 33. Although Hanson bravely tried to publish the Federal Republican again a month later, the post office and city couldn’t effectively distribute the paper without risking another riot. Only one individual was found guilty in the entire affair, including those in the mob and among the Federalists; everyone else was acquitted.

The Baltimore Riots of 1812 stained the reputation of the Republican Party, which was embarrassed by the mob violence in Baltimore. In Maryland, backlash to the riots led to Federalists taking control of the state government. In Baltimore, however, the riots essentially silenced local Federalists, who “were fearful of muttering our sentiments lest we in turn might be attacked.”[4] The city continued to be prone to mob violence in the years ahead. Nationally, the riots lent credence to Federalist claims that Republicans were using the war to silence the political opposition and strengthened the anti-war movement.

Today, an interpretive marker on Charles Street acknowledges the Baltimore Riots of 1812 and their role in American political history.

1. Stanley L. Quick and Chipp Reid. Lion in the Bay: The British Invasion of the Chesapeake, 1813-1814. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2015.

2. Paul A. Gilje. "The Baltimore Riots of 1812 and the Breakdown of the Anglo-American Mob Tradition." Journal of Social History, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Summer, 1980): 547-564.

3. "Baltimore residents riot against antiwar dissenters." National Park Service. Web. Accessed December 22, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/articles/baltimore-riots.htm

4. Donald R. Hickey. The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict. Champagne: University of Illinois Press, 2012.