Docks, Taverns, Carousel, and Hospital

What do a Philadelphia tavern, a flying horse carousel, the Pennsylvania Hospital, and Black dock workers have in common? The Flying Horse Riot of 1834.

In my new middle-grade novel, two fugitive 12-year-old slaves travel through Philadelphia to New York City and freedom. About 20% of 19th-century sailors were African American, including Black watermen, oystermen, and stevedores in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. Their knowledge of maritime practices and daily port activities helped hide and move runaways.

In 1834, Philadelphia was a major center for abolition and had the largest free Black population of any Northern city. Despite this, free Black citizens still faced a constant threat of kidnapping by slave catchers and violent working-class white mobs.

Seventeen to twenty thousand free Blacks lived and worked in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Moyamensing. They created churches, schools, and mutual aid societies. Besides maritime work, they built wealth and economic independence as entrepreneurs, tradespeople, waiters, and caterers.

The Flying Horse Race Riot was four days of planned attacks on Black institutions and families. It began at a pub near a flying horse carousel. It later spread to Moyamensing. Reports described groups of white men wearing the same outfits attacking only Black businesses and homes. White people in the same area put candles in their windows to avoid attacks. The attackers met in a pre-planned way with weapons to “hunt” their prey.

Mobs destroyed 44 buildings, including over 30 homes, 2 Black churches, as well as meeting halls and businesses. Most Black families lost everything overnight. White mobs killed at least two Blacks and beat many badly enough to require hospitalization in Pennsylvania Hospital.

Working-class white people and new immigrants believed “rich” Blacks had “stolen” their jobs. It was factory and business innovations that took skilled white jobs. The violence continued for several years, but by 1837, the Black-led Vigilant Association of Philadelphia came to their defense by organizing members, raising funds, and coordinating responses to threats.