August 4, 1877 | Illustration
The violence at Pittsburgh resulted in numerous arrests - one is pictured below.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
With other local clergy, Bishop Twigg of Pittsburgh tried to quell the violence of the strike and rioting.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
This August 4, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts soldiers from the Sixth National Guard Regiment firing into the crowd, which includes women in the foreground and features the crowd hurling bricks, waving clubs, and shooting at the soldiers with a revolver.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
Strikers greased the tracks running out of Hornellsville up Tip Top Summit, effectively preventing trains from climbing the grade.
August 4, 1877 | Illustration
This image comes from a series of illustrations "Scenes In The Armory Of The Seventh Regiment, N.G.S.N.Y." depicting the soldiers' stay in their armory in preparation for violence on the streets of New York.
August 8, 1877 | Illustration
This cover image from the August 8, 1877 issue of PUCK Magazine depicts Henry Ward Beecher as a hypocrite.
August 8, 1877 | Illustration
This illustration from the August 8, 1877 issue of PUCK Magazine mocks the Fifth Pennsylvania Regiment's efforts to put down the riot.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts the U.S. cavalry charging into the crowd in Chicago on July 26, 1877, and emphasizes the crowd's fear and panic in the face of sabers-drawn, overwhelming military response.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 front page from Leslie's Illustrated is meant to capture the immediacy of the violence and action associated with the strikes.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
The strike spread from Baltimore into small towns, big cities, and rural areas in the summer of 1877. This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts a gang of workers under the protection of the 23rd New York State National Guard Regiment repairing the tracks near Corning, New York.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
An August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicting a New York City meeting in Tompkins Square; both supporters and opponents of the strike are visible in the image. Note the placard to the side of the stage: "Our Strength Lies in the Justice of Our Demands Let the Workingmen of the World Unite."
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
During the strikes, New York's Seventh Regiment occupied the armory for several days in preparation for violence in the city. Although there were several large meetings held, no mob action took place in New York.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
Although there was no large-scale unrest in New York, crowds did gather in Tompkins Square during the Railroad Strike. Tompkins Square had been the site of civil unrest and rioting at several points in New York history, including during the 1863 Draft Riots, and police feared speakers would rile up strike supporters.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts the smoldering ruins of the roundhouse and shops at Pittsburgh after the riots. Such scenes of devastation, rendered from the vantage point and perspective to see the whole scope, were similar to images of destruction in the Civil War.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts strikers tearing up the track and bridge near Corning, New York in advance of an oncoming engine. These confrontations were both organized and spontaneous, dependent on the deep experience and expertise of the railroad workers with the operation of the roads.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
Scenes of repair and destruction of railroads in this August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated were similar to illustrations throughout the Civil War. This lithograph depicts a construction gang, under the protection of the New York State Militia, righting overturned cars near Corning, New York.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
An August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicting masses of strike supporters stoppping a train at Corning, New York, even as armed soldiers make their presence known.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts Robert M. Ammon, leader of the Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne strike, sending information to the strikers via telegraph.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts the crowd threatening infantrymen of the Ninth New York State National Guard in Albany on July 24, 1877. Such discussions tested the loyalties of local and state militias, as strikers justified their cause and gained solidarity with militia.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 image from Harper's Weekly depicts the Sixth Regiment fighting its way through Baltimore.