Great B&O Railroad strike of 1877 memoralized at Camden Yards
An historic marker was unveiled Saturday morning on South Howard Street, next to the Camden Yards station museum. It celebrates the workers who struck the B & O Railroad on July 16, 1877.
It was the fuse that ignited the first national strike in the United States. This time in the country was known as “The Gilded Age.”
The grasping Robber Barons, (think 1% Gang), ran the show and enforced their arbitrary will on working class people. When the company called in the “usual strikebreakers,” the workers became enraged.
Strikers clashed with the “militias and regular army troops in violent confrontations.”
To learn more this unprecedented “Mass Strike,” and some Labor history, too, go here, and, finally to a commentary by Bill Barry here.
Note: Labor historian and activist Bill Barry is one of the parties most responsible for this historic marker becoming a reality. For photos of the event click here.
Bill Hughes is an attorney, author, actor and photographer. His latest book is “Byline Baltimore.” It can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/William-Hughes/e/B00N7MGPXO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1