Battle of Broad Street (Napoleonic Age)

The Battle of Broad Street, also known as the Broad Street massacre or the Richmond massacre, was a civil disturbance that took place between 10 and 10:10 am on 18 May 1861, which resulted in the secession of the remaining Southern states and the beginning of the American Civil War.

A company of Federal troops stationed in Richmond were marching down the Broad Street, under the command of Second Lieutenant James Harry Greene, when they were accosted by anywhere between one dozen and over two dozen younger men, who threw rocks and shouted obscenities at the soldiers. Greene, maintaining the discipline of his men, continued the march down the street, until – with various eyewitness accounts conflicting on its nature and origin – a scuffle broke out between one of the soldiers and several of the younger men. By this point, a crowd of Richmond citizens had gathered to observe, mostly to the company's front. Lieutenant Greene fired his pistol into the air to grab the attention of the soldier and attacking men, though this only worsened tensions, and several citizens now openly fought with the soldiers. Greene, giving anywhere between two and five separate commands to the men to disperse, eventually gave the order to fire into the crowd. Three volleys in quick succession were dispensed into the crowd, killing four dozen men and women and wounding sixty more.

While the circumstances around the massacre are still hotly debated, the widespread attention it received in the media led directly to the beginning of the American Civil War. Greene was quickly court-martialed for his behavior but, as the war gained steam, was quickly acquitted, promoted to Captain, and took part in several major battles in the Eastern Theater.