There was a riot on the night of the election, October 9. A party of men were dragging an old wagon, upon which a load of combustibles had been placed and set on fire, through the streets of Moyamensing. There was a brick building at the corner of Sixth and St. Mary Streets called the California House and kept as a tavern, of which the chief patrons were negroes. The proprietor was a mulatto, and he had a white wife. That kind of miscegenation was very unpopular in those days and threats against the proprietor had been quite frequent. The negroes had been expecting a raid for some time, and when they saw the blazing wagon coming along they concluded that the threatened attack was soon to begin. So the negroes started trouble by throwing stones and bricks at the men drawing the wagon. The asault led to retaliatory measures. By attacking the California House, and by the use of bricks, stones and firearms they gained it, piled the furniture together, tore out the gas fixtures and set the gas free so that the place burned completely. Houses nearby the California House were burned, and the mob increased.
Whites and blacks both were full of the fighting spirit and the police had difficulty in persuading the colored men to refrain from attack on the white rioters, who fought the police and firemen. About midnight the State House bell rang a call for the military, and about the same time the rioters dispersed, leaving Charles Himmelwright dead and John Hollick dying, both of these men being members of Good-Will Fire Company. When the militia arrived on the scene they found everything quiet and they soon took up the return march to the mayor's office, where they were dismissed.
This was a mistake, for before daylight the mob, reassembling and finding no soldiers on the ground, resumed their mischievous work, set fire to a frame house in St. Mary's Street and began to attack the colored people of the neighborhood. The Phoenix Hose Company, on its way to the fire, was stopped and assailed with a volley of stones. The mob seized the Robert Morris hose carriage and ran it into Moyamensing, and cut the hose belonging to the Diligent Hose Company. The firemen later rallied and succeeded in saving the burning house, and this so reassured the negroes that they engaged in battle with the whites in Fifth Street until about 8 o'clock. The military returned about 10 o'clock and remained on the ground for two days. Besides Himmelwright and Hollick, Thomas G. Westerhood was shot and died that same month; Thomas G. McShane was shot and killed while looking out of a window and John Griffith, a colored boy, was killed. Nine white and sixteen black wounded were taken to the hospital, and there were, doubtless, other wounded who were privately looked after.
This was a mistake, for before daylight the mob, reassembling and finding no soldiers on the ground, resumed their mischievous work, set fire to a frame house in St. Mary's Street and began to attack the colored people of the neighborhood. The Phoenix Hose Company, on its way to the fire, was stopped and assailed with a volley of stones. The mob seized the Robert Morris hose carriage and ran it into Moyamensing, and cut the hose belonging to the Diligent Hose Company. The firemen later rallied and succeeded in saving the burning house, and this so reassured the negroes that they engaged in battle with the whites in Fifth Street until about 8 o'clock. The military returned about 10 o'clock and remained on the ground for two days. Besides Himmelwright and Hollick, Thomas G. Westerhood was shot and died that same month; Thomas G. McShane was shot and killed while looking out of a window and John Griffith, a colored boy, was killed. Nine white and sixteen black wounded were taken to the hospital, and there were, doubtless, other wounded who were privately looked after.
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