Bloody Dawn: The Christiana Riot and Racial Violence in the Antebellum North

by Thomas P. Slaughter

Book Overview

When four young men, slaves on Edward Gorsuch's Maryland farm, escaped to rural Pennsylvania in 1849, the owner swore he'd bring them back. Two years later, Gorsuch lay dead outside the farmhouse in Christiana where he'd tracked them down, as his federal posse retreated pell-mell before the armed might of local blacks--and the impact of the most notorious act of resistance against the federal Fugitive Slave Law was about to be felt across a divided...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019504634X
• ISBN13: 9780195046342
• Release Date: October 1994
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An important historical event that is often overlooked

Bloody Dawn: The Christiana Riot and Racial Violence in the Antebellum North by Thomas P. Slaughter covers an event leading up to the American Civil War that is every bit as important as John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. On my many trips from NJ to Lancaster County, PA I frequently pass through the sleepy little village of Christiana, PA. With the exception of a monument to what is known as "The Chrisitana Riot" one would never know how this little hamlet played a part in the upcoming American Civil War. The book tells the story of how Edward Gorsuch, a slave owner from Maryland, came to Christiana, PA with the full force of federal law, the Fugitive Slave Act, behind him to retrieve his property, Noah Buley, Nelson Ford, and the two brothers Joshua and George Hammond who ran awy from Gorsuch's farm in 1849. For the most part the book focuses in the events of September 11, 1851. Slaughter's book really shows how this was not a riot at all, but an armed resistance of free blacks and runaway slaves against slave catchers made up of a the slave owner and his family, a federal marshall, and the local laboring class who saw a chance to get even a make a quick buck. The book puts to rest the idea of the cowering runaway slave and shows how a free black from Philadelphia, Samual Williams tailed the Federal Marshall, Henry Kline and warned the African-Americans in Lancaster County of the coming of Edward Gorsuch and his intent to take back his property. The author also tells us about William Parker, a runaway slave who set up a "Self-Protection Society" to combat the local slave catching gangs in the area. The book also covers the treason trial of Parker's white neighbor, Castner Hanway, a miller who went to see what was going on and to warn the slave catchers that the African Americans were fully prepared to defend themselves. Hanway was neither a Quaker or an abolitionist, but after being found not guilty of treason became both and set about speaking against slavery. This is a great book and will break down myths about African Americans in the Antebellum North, Quakers, and abolitionists. The sub-title is kind of a misnomer as the book focuses in on Lancaster County and really doesn't cover the rest of the northern states. My only complaint is that while the author does a good job of explaining racial and economic tensions in antebellum Lancaster County, explains the attitudes of groups like the Quakers, yes some owned slaves, he never mentions the attitude toward slavery and African Americans of the other notable religious groups in the area, namely the Mennonites and Amish. This book should be part of every Civil War library.

A terrific book on the antebellum era & Pennsylvania history

This is an economical yet comprehensive account of the eventsin Lancaster County, PA, that helped to spark the Civil War. Thebloody events of that day and the efforts of slavecatchers to regain their "property" will make an indelible impression on thereader. Far too little attention has been paid to this aspect of the crusade against slavery and to this particular episode. The author follows up with a full account of the resulting trial held in what is now Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Buy this book - it will help to open your eyes.