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Bloody Dawn: The Christiana Riot and Racial Violence in the Antebellum North
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 nation.
Bloody Dawn vividly tells this dramatic story of escape, manhunt, riot, and the ensuing trial, detailing its importance in heightening the tensions that led to the Civil War. Thomas Slaughter's engaging narrative captures the full complexity of events and The four men fled after they were detected stealing grain for resale off the farm; Gorsuch, far from a brutal taskmaster, had pledged to release all his slaves when they reached the age of twenty-eight, but he relentlessly pursued the escapees out of a sense of wounded honor; and the African-American community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania that provided them refuge was already effectively organized for self-defense by a commanding former slave named William Parker. Slaughter paints a rich portrait of the ongoing struggles between local blacks and white kidnapping gangs, the climactic riot as neighbors responded to trumpet calls from the besieged runaway slaves, the escape to Canada of the central figures
(aided by Frederick Douglass), and the government's urgent response (including the largest mass indictment for treason in our history)--leading to the trial for his life of a local white bystander accused of leading the rioting blacks. Slaughter not only draws out the great importance given to the riot in both the North and the South, but he uses legal records reaching back over half a century to uncover the thoughts of average people on race, slavery, and violence.
The Whiskey Rebellion , Slaughter's previous work of history, received widespread acclaim as "a vivid account" ( The New York Times ) and "an unusual combination of meticulous scholarship and engaging narrative" ( The Philadelphia Inquirer ). It was a selection of the History Book Club, and won both the National Historical Society Book Prize and the American Revolution Round Table Award. In Bloody Dawn , he once again weaves together the incisive insights of a professional historian with a gripping account of a dramatic moment in American history.
Bloody Dawn vividly tells this dramatic story of escape, manhunt, riot, and the ensuing trial, detailing its importance in heightening the tensions that led to the Civil War. Thomas Slaughter's engaging narrative captures the full complexity of events and The four men fled after they were detected stealing grain for resale off the farm; Gorsuch, far from a brutal taskmaster, had pledged to release all his slaves when they reached the age of twenty-eight, but he relentlessly pursued the escapees out of a sense of wounded honor; and the African-American community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania that provided them refuge was already effectively organized for self-defense by a commanding former slave named William Parker. Slaughter paints a rich portrait of the ongoing struggles between local blacks and white kidnapping gangs, the climactic riot as neighbors responded to trumpet calls from the besieged runaway slaves, the escape to Canada of the central figures
(aided by Frederick Douglass), and the government's urgent response (including the largest mass indictment for treason in our history)--leading to the trial for his life of a local white bystander accused of leading the rioting blacks. Slaughter not only draws out the great importance given to the riot in both the North and the South, but he uses legal records reaching back over half a century to uncover the thoughts of average people on race, slavery, and violence.
The Whiskey Rebellion , Slaughter's previous work of history, received widespread acclaim as "a vivid account" ( The New York Times ) and "an unusual combination of meticulous scholarship and engaging narrative" ( The Philadelphia Inquirer ). It was a selection of the History Book Club, and won both the National Historical Society Book Prize and the American Revolution Round Table Award. In Bloody Dawn , he once again weaves together the incisive insights of a professional historian with a gripping account of a dramatic moment in American history.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 6, 2024
Interesting piece of local history regarding the violence in Lancaster County between the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act and the Civil War. It would be nice if they had taught me this stuff in school, but whatever.
April 13, 2026
A 3.75 rounded up.
This felt like two separate academic journal articles rolled into a book. The first 7 chapters are about the Christiana Riot, and go into the details of the event. The last two chapters discuss the broader issues of violence and the law, and Slaughter applies smaller events to Christiana that happened in Lancaster County as way to contextualize the event. I think adding the analysis from those two chapters throughout the book, or cutting them would have been more interesting.
Like I said above, this could have been a journal article. It would have suited the actual content, and Slaughter's writing style. While the book is less than 200 pages it felt like a slog to get through. The abundance of block quotes also felt unnecessary.
This felt like two separate academic journal articles rolled into a book. The first 7 chapters are about the Christiana Riot, and go into the details of the event. The last two chapters discuss the broader issues of violence and the law, and Slaughter applies smaller events to Christiana that happened in Lancaster County as way to contextualize the event. I think adding the analysis from those two chapters throughout the book, or cutting them would have been more interesting.
Like I said above, this could have been a journal article. It would have suited the actual content, and Slaughter's writing style. While the book is less than 200 pages it felt like a slog to get through. The abundance of block quotes also felt unnecessary.
February 21, 2019
In Maryland -849, slaves are accused of stealing grain from their master and run to free Lancaster, Pa. area. White and blacks team together to fight the federal posse chasing them with their master. A clash incurs with deaths and was a prerequisite to the civil war. The author spent more time on the pre-slavery conditions in the area more than the story, with much conjecture.
June 3, 2021
It's been many years since I read this, but I just realized it was on Goodreads. This is way too exciting to be your average history. It should definitely be a mini-series on TV!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews