Philadelphia Nativist Riots - July Riot

July Riot

On July 3, Father John Patrick Dunn of the Church of St. Philip Neri in the Southwark District was warned in advance of a planned parade by the Native American Party that the church might be attacked. The Native American Party, a nativist political party similar to the American Republican Party, planned to hold a large parade the next day on Independence Day.

To prepare in the case of violence, the church applied for an arsenal that a volunteer company would use in case the church was attacked. Pennsylvania Governor David R. Porter authorized the formation of a company and the procurement of twenty-five muskets from the Frankford Arsenal. Major General Robert Patterson, commander of the Pennsylvania militia, put the troops on alert in case of violence.

Five of the muskets placed in St. Philip Neri's Church were discovered to be defective and were sent back to the Frankford Arsenal to be repaired. There was no violence before or during the parade, but on July 5, a nativist mob numbering in the thousands gathered at the church after a few local nativists saw the five defective muskets being returned to the church. The nativists demanded that the sheriff remove the weapons, while Father Dunn and volunteers rallied to protect the church. The sheriff and two aldermen searched the church and removed twelve muskets. After leaving the church, the sheriff urged the crowd to disperse and left a volunteer posse to guard the church. The mob remained, and a man who was injured in the May riots made a speech to the crowd, calling for a second search of the church. The sheriff, an alderman, and seventeen nativists went inside the church and found three armed men, fifty-three muskets, ten pistols, a keg of gunpowder and ammunition. To avoid inciting the mob, the sheriff decided not to remove the armaments, and the search party stayed in the church. Just after midnight, July 6, Major General Patterson ordered a company of city guards to clear the streets. After the crowd dispersed, the arms found within the church were removed.

By midday, the crowds returned around St. Philip Neri's Church. General George Cadwalader ordered the crowds to disperse, but they did not. By the evening, the sheriff had arrived with a 150-strong posse. Throughout the evening, the military presence grew, and three cannons were stationed on the streets. The soldiers cleared the streets near the church, despite being pelted with rocks by the mob. In response to the rock throwers, General Cadwalader ordered a cannon to be fired at the crowd on Third Street. A man named Charles Naylor begged the general not to fire, and he and several others were arrested and held within the church. By the morning of July 7, most of the soldiers had left, but the crowds returned, being led by an alderman and the sheriff, and demanded that the remaining guard release Naylor. Everyone except Naylor was released. The crowds grew, and a cannon was brought from a nearby wharf and used to threaten the church. After further negotiations, Naylor was released and carried home to cheers on people's shoulders.

After Naylor was brought home, the mob attacked the church, damaging a wall with the cannon. A second cannon was brought from the wharfs and fired at the church, after which the mob pelted the building with rocks and broke in through a side door. The soldiers fired on the men breaking into the church, who promptly retreated. After retreating, the nativists negotiated with the guard, who agreed to withdraw, allowing the nativists to guard the church. Responding to being pelted with rocks as they left, some soldiers fired back on the crowd, which only incited the mob further. The mob forced its way into the church, causing extensive damage to the interior. After about an hour, a group of twenty men organized themselves to guard St. Philip Neri's, and the mob left the church.

By the evening, a large number of soldiers arrived with orders to clear the streets, only to be stoned in the process. After a captain was attacked, the order was given to fire on the mob, which resulted in seven people being killed and nine people being wounded. Not long after, people with muskets and cannons arrived, and fierce fighting broke out between the soldiers and the mob. The fighting lasted for several hours, with the soldiers being fired upon from alleyways and the windows of nearby buildings. The soldiers brought in two cannons of their own and fired on the mob; the mob returned fire using their own cannons, armed with items such as nails, chains, knives and broken bottles. In an attempt to capture the mob's cannons, soldiers charged one cannon's position, only to be knocked off their horses by a rope tied across the street. The cannons were all eventually captured, and by early morning on July 8, the fighting had ended.

At least fifteen people, including both rioters and soldiers, were killed in the riot, and at least fifty people were injured. Under Governor Porter's orders, state troops continued to arrive in the city in the days afterwards, but there was no further violence. An estimated 5,000 militia were used to stop violence. Troops began to withdraw from the city on July 10, and the church took over responsibility from the district of Southwark of protecting the church on July 11. As with the May riots, a grand jury blamed the Irish Catholics for the riots, but supported the military's response to the violence.