Eastman, Dean. Notes taken from the Emancipator, Vol. VIII, No. 18, p. 71, August 31, 1843; Event happened Aug. 30. Reprinted from Mercantile Journal.
…between 2 sailors. One a boatswains mate on the U.S. ship Ohio the other a boatswain of the U.S. Cutter Hamilton.
The men were walking down Ann Street came to No. 157 Ann St. (a boarding house for colored men kept by Henry Foreman).
The sidewalk was crowded with colored men and the 2 whites were unable to pass. When one of the white men “very politely asked the colored men if they intended to block the sidewalk so as to force white men into the street and he made a powerful move forward among them. One of them, a powerful fellow grasped his shirt and tore it. In an instant the sailor was knocked down and dragged into the house.” The other white sailor was stabbed in the chest while helping. Other white sailors came upon the scene shouting “down with Negroes” and rushed the house, demolishing furniture and windows- the house was a complete wreck. A riot broke out- over 1,000 people involved.
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