On this day, July 20, in 1877, a riot in Baltimore by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers was put down by the state militia, resulting in 10 deaths.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began July 14 in West Virginia in response to the cutting of wages by the B&O. The strike spread to Baltimore. When Maryland Gov. John Lee Carroll called in the National Guard, rioters attacked the troops. Soldiers fired on the crowd, killing 10 and wounding 25. Camden station was burned, and so were several engines and cars.

President Rutherford B. Hayes sent in federal troops to put down the violence, but the incident sparked more riots around the country.

-- Scott McCabe