The Charleston Riot

 

The Civil War was far more complex than just “North versus South.” The riot that took place in Charleston, Illinois, on March 28, 1864, is a great example of this. Some Northern Democrats were called Peace Democrats or Copperheads because they hoped to end Northern involvement in the war. The violence in Charleston broke out when a meeting of local Copperheads collided with the 54th Illinois Infantry. Some have called this riot a draft riot, which would make it the largest Civil War draft riot outside of New York City—9 people were killed and 12 were wounded. Eventually, Lincoln pardoned the Copperheads involved in this event. Many Charleston citizens were shocked at the occurrence, and normal life halted for a few days in the aftermath as locals tried to return to a sense of peace and safety through guard postings and other actions.

This collection of documents includes accounts of the violence from many different sources. It is important to compare all of these in order to piece together the full story. The work that historians do often involves this type of synthesis of multiple points of view. Some of these sources are official military reports, but most of them are newspaper accounts from local papers as well as ones in Chicago.

-Cate LiaBraaten

Click on the image to find out more about the Charleston Riot on Past Tracker.

Also available on Past Tracker: information about Charleston Riot commemoration in the 1960s