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The Christiania Riot … Sept 11, 1851: Resistance, Tragedy, Rebellion, Incident - History Lecture w/ Gary Grove

With the passage of the 1850 Compromise, the likelihood of free blacks being kidnapped and freedom seekers being recaptured by slave chasers increased dramatically. This caused the African-Americans leaving near Christiania in Eastern Lancaster County to group together to protect themselves from such treats. On the morning of Sept 11, 1851, William Gorsuch, a slave owner from Maryland and his son Dickerson, accompanied by federal marshals attempted to reclaim four of his fugitive slaves. Resistance was such that William Gorsuch ended up dead and his son severely wounded. The slaves were able to successfully escape to Canda via a well-established Underground Railroad. Although the incident and subsequent legal proceedings drew national attention, the outcome of the trial caused the split between the northern and southern states view on slavery to widen even further eventually leading to out break of the American Civil War.