MAY 7: THE BLOODIEST DAY
Philadelphia Awakens to Revenge
The morning papers carried words meant to ignite the city. The Native American warned that “another St. Bartholomew’s day has begun in the streets of Philadelphia,” insisting that “the bloody hand of the Pope has stretched forth to our destruction.” It urged all who valued “free institutions” to arm themselves.
The American Republican Party responded with urgency. On Monday night they gathered downtown, voted a one thousand dollar reward for the killers of young George Shiffler, and issued a citywide call for a mass meeting behind Independence Hall. At the urging of Reverend John H. Gihon, the announcement carried a stark instruction: “Let every man come prepared to defend himself.” By midday, the city was plastered with placards demanding attendance.
Independence Hall: A Crowd Too Large to Control
At 3:30 p.m., thousands converged on the yard behind Independence Hall, more people than any Nativist rally had yet attracted. Some accounts say at least three thousand. Others estimate double that number. They filled the historic square shoulder to shoulder, bristling with fear, anger, and a sense of wounded pride.
A brief attempt at moderation came from Thomas R. Newbold, who urged peaceful political remedies. His words were warmly greeted. But the crowd stirred again when Colonel Charles J. Jack, a militia officer and attorney, took the stand. He reminded listeners that he had warned for years about “the influence of foreigners in the elections,” and called for the formation of a regiment of Native American volunteers. The speech electrified the assembly.
John Perry, a speaker from the May 3 rally, introduced resolutions condemning the previous day’s violence and supporting the families of the dead. They passed unanimously. But when Perry proposed adjourning until Thursday, the crowd erupted in defiance. From every direction came shouts:
“Adjourn to Second and Master now.”
“Let’s go up to Kensington.”
Newbold returned to the podium to remind the crowd of its pledge to peace, but the momentum had already slipped from his hands.
The movement he tried to restrain surged forward without him.
The March North: A Procession Under a Torn Flag
Led by Colonel Jack, several hundred armed men formed a column in the yard and marched out to Second Street. Others joined along the way, swelling the procession until it stretched far down the roadway. Near the head of the column, someone carried a battered American flag. Attached to it was a banner that read:
“This is the FLAG that was trampled UNDERFOOT by the IRISH PAPISTS.”
Different sources describe the flag as torn, soiled, or mud-stained, but all agree it was wielded as a symbol of injury and justification.
The crowd marched in military fashion up Second Street, north toward Kensington, arriving just before five o’clock. Ahead of them lay the narrow lanes of Cadwalader Street, Harmony Court, and Weaver’s Row, where the Irish had spent the day preparing for another assault.
Irish Defenses: Preparing for the Onslaught
Word of the march reached the Irish district earlier in the afternoon. Many families fled immediately, carrying bundles of belongings out of their homes. Others gathered what they could and remained behind.
A wagon loaded with rifles had been delivered to the courtyard known as Weaver’s Row, off Cadwalader Street, where John Paul, a weaver, distributed weapons among neighbors. More men gathered at Harmony Court, led by John Daley, while others positioned themselves at Germantown Road and Jefferson Street.
Patrick Murray’s store served as an ammunition depot.
Thirty to forty armed Irish Catholics took positions in houses, alleys, and courtyards, determined to defend what remained of their neighborhood.
Hibernia Hose House: The Spark that Lit the Day
As the Nativist vanguard entered the Irish ward, they moved straight toward the Hibernia Hose House, the volunteer fire company used as a firing point during the previous day’s battle. Young men from the procession forced a side door and tried to drag the hose carriage into the street.
In response, Irish defenders opened fire from the upper floors. Gunfire erupted instantly from multiple Irish positions:
• Weaver’s Row
• Harmony Court
• The houses of Cadwalader Street
• And from the edges of the Nanny Goat Market
“Bullets from both sides caught the crowd in crossfire,” one account recorded.
Colonel Peter Albright, a former militia officer injured the day before, attempted to organize the Nativists into a fighting line, but they were exposed in the open streets while the Irish fired from protected cover.
The First Hour: Four Nativists Dead
Within the first hour of fighting, four Nativists lay dead:
• Lewis Greble, shot through the head
• Charles Stilwell, killed near the hose house
• John Wesley Rhinedollar, killed in the street where Shiffler had fallen
• Matthew Hammitt, killed at Jefferson and Cadwalader
At least eleven others were wounded, including Augustus Peale, whose shattered arm required later amputation.
The Irish suffered losses as well.
Most notably Joseph Rice, age fifty-seven, who was peering over his fence when a shot from Isaac Hare, a young Nativist, struck him in the forehead. Witnesses said the slug passed through his skull. His wife and children remained beside his body throughout the night, a scene that appears consistently in the records.
The Tactical Shift: Fire As a Weapon
The Irish, firing from elevated positions and sheltered courtyards, held the tactical advantage. Unable to reach them, Nativist groups adopted a new tactic: arson.
Small bands peeled away from the main fight and set fire to Irish homes along Cadwalader Street, beginning with houses identified as firing points.
The flames spread rapidly. Frame houses along Harmony Court ignited. Fire reached the Hibernia Hose House, consuming the entire building. Fires then jumped to Master Street, Jefferson Street, Germantown Road, and back alley structures.
The Public Ledger reported: “No fire apparatus was put in requisition.” It added that some companies tried to reach the burning area but “were prevented,” while others “refused to approach for fear of being fired upon.”
At least one charred body was found in a basement. Some reports state that seven or eight Irish died in their homes.
The Lynching of John Taggart
As fires spread up Cadwalader Street, Irish gunman John Taggart was forced from a burning doorway into the hands of Constable Bartholomew Baker. Baker attempted to escort him to Alderman Isaac Boileau, but a crowd seized Taggart, beat him, dragged him through the streets, and hung him from a lamppost.
Believing him dead, they left him. Baker returned, cut him down, and revived him, preserving him for trial.
Refugees Flee to Camac’s Woods
By nightfall the Irish district was burning. Families fled with what little they could carry. A Ledger reporter described their exodus: “Men with their wives, and often six or seven children, trudging fearfully through the streets, with small bundles, seeking a refuge they knew not where.” Many walked north to Camac’s Woods, a wooded area two to three miles from Kensington. There, hundreds of Irish Catholics huddled in makeshift encampments.
Reports described:
• Families surviving on berries
• Mothers holding infants in the cold
• Children crying from fear
• A woman giving birth under a tree
Some survivors later wandered further toward Manayunk and Norristown. Others attempted to return to the ruins of their homes only to flee again when gunfire resumed.
The Arrival of the Militia
Around 9:00 p.m., General George Cadwalader, having resolved his legal reservations, arrived with militia units, including the Jackson Artillerists and the National Guard. Artillery pieces were placed at intersections. Only then did firemen move in to fight the flames under military escort.
By midnight, the fires were largely under control. The militia took possession of St. Michael’s Church to protect it from further attack.
Bodies remained in the streets. Joseph Rice’s body lay in his yard all night, with his family beside him.
The Cost of May 7
Sources collectively indicate:
Nativists killed:
• Greble
• Stilwell
• Rhinedollar
• Hammitt
(and possibly others not immediately recorded)
Irish killed:
• Joseph Rice
• A man identified only as “Johnson”
• Possibly several more burned alive in homes
Buildings destroyed:
At least thirty confirmed, with estimates reaching sixty to one hundred structures.
The Nanny Goat Market, two hundred sixty feet long, was completely destroyed.
The Hibernia Hose House burned to the ground.
Blocks of homes on Cadwalader, Master, Harmony Court, Jefferson, and Germantown were reduced to rubble.
The Day’s Final Meaning
When the flames finally died, Kensington was unrecognizable. Blocks of the Irish district stood as charred ruins. Families were scattered. Authorities had failed to protect either property or life.
In the words of one commentator, “With the neighborhood literally burning around them, round four went to the Nativists, who had discovered that fire could accomplish what guns could not.”
May 7 had become the most destructive day of the Kensington Riots. The next day would bring the burning of St. Michael’s Church itself.