Baltimore bank riot

The riot, which lasted from 6 to 9 August, attacked the homes and property of a number of former directors of the bank, who had been accused of financial misconduct and fraud, as well as the federal district courthouse located on Battle Monument Square.

The Baltimore bank riot was one of the most violent and destructive events of civic unrest in any American city prior to the Civil War.

The authorities were unable to control the violence and effectively surrendered the city to the mob, which was actively or passively supported by numerous bystanders.

The closure of the Bank of Maryland on 29 March 1834, combined with the failure of other financial institutions, resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in deposits held by individual citizens.

[2] Again anticipating further disturbance, Mayor Jesse Hunt summoned thirty armed horsemen as a militia to form a cordon across the entrance to Battle Monument Square.

[2] In an effort to resolve the situation, the mayor and advisers held a mass meeting at the large, domed "Merchants' Exchange" building, (designed by famed architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, which housed various Federal offices, courts, post office and maritime businesses) on South Gay between Water and East Lombard streets.

It resulted in suffering of many citizens and damaged the reputations of the administration of President Andrew Jackson and his successor Martin van Buren.