Was wondering if anyone can recall any hot / nearly hot conflicts between US States or groups of US States, other than the American Civil War? What I’m after are incidents where state militias were raised or formed up at the borders of other states, that sort of thing, not going so far as against the Federal Government though. Seems like there was a border war or two back in the 1800s but I can’t seem to find them on Google or Wiki. I’ve tracked down the odd rebellion or two but haven’t found whole States squaring off. Maybe I’m using the wrong search terms or have glossed over them or simply imagined them?
Doh, meant that as a new post, ignore please until Mod fixes.
The state of Ohio engaged in some fisticuffs with people from what was to become the state of Michigan over the location of the border between them. You can look the stituation up in Wikipedia for a good overview of what happened. Of course, Michigan was not yet a state at the time, so it doesn’t quite match the requirements of the OP.
There was a fair amount of bluster between the colony of New Hampshire and the colony of New York over the property that eventually declared a pox on both their houses and got itself organized as Vermont, but I don’t think that anything occurred that could be called a “war” subsequent to the Declaration of Independence.
And once a Constitution was adopted, all the states tended to go along with using courts to decide issues.
(The casualties in the Toledo War were one Michigan cow and the broken arm (inflicted by the woman who had owned the cow) of the drunken Ohioan who shot it.)
The Aroostook War, between Maine and New Brunswick, was almost certainly the only war between a US state and a Canadian province (both terms defined broadly, of course).
Massachusetts and some of the other New England states were pretty mad about “Mr. Madison’s War” of 1812, but I don’t think any fisticuffs ensued except for some sharp-witted editorials and a pamphlet or two. And that’d be “State against the Feds” which is still going on, really.
Massachusetts also got huffy about “The Southwick Jog” that pegs into CT a little bit. (Warning: link to PDF) But that’s more of a border dispute too. Nothing got hurt except the reputations of long-deceased cartographers.
I’ll see your Aroo and raise you a pig, though it’s admittedly beyond the state v. province parameter and effectively the last (little-known) dispute over the Canadian/U.S. border.
The Oyster Wars between Maryland and Virginia.
Oklahoma and Texas fought over who controlled the Red River for decades… the rivalry between the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma (the Red River Shootout) is likely a direct reference to this.
Here are a few links for reading:
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/RR/rnr1.html
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/RR/mgr2.html
In 1839 Iowa and Missouri had a set to over the location of their common border and the identity and location of the “rapids of the Des Moines River.” It started when a Missouri sheriff attempted to collect taxes from people who regarded themselves as Iowans. This was important because Missouri was a slave state and Iowa, then a territory, was free soil under the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Missouri and Iowa militias were called out but actual blood shed was forestalled by a federal survey. This was the Honey Tree War.
Excellent! Thanks for the info fellows.
Well, maybe a little more than mere bluster. Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys cut their teeth terrorizing “Yorkers” before they joined the colonial cause in the American Rev. (They would take Ft. Ticonderoga from the Brits after they joined that fight.) One account I read told of how one Benjamin Hough, before he was run off from the disputed land, got 200 lashes across his bare back for merely being a NY justice of the Peace.
Probably counts as a rebellion (as it was between the US and Utah) but there was the Utah War of 1857-1858 when President Buchanan attempted to depose Bringham Young as governor of Utah. A bit of a damp squib as wars go (though did result in the Mountain Meadows Massacre )
Well I was going to go Oyster War – but since that is taken and seeing as some folks have stretched states to equal colonies how about Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood sending an armed contingent (led by Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard) into North Carolina to deal with Blackbeard the Pirate. North Carolina Govern Eden had already pardoned Blackbeard. (Eden reportedly shrugged at pirate activity and possibly shared in Blackbeard’s booty.)
So not … quite… VA vs. NC – more like if the NC governor pardoned Beltway Sniper John Muhammad and the Virginia Legislature and Governor authorized and spent tax money to arm and send a detachment of National Guard Troops, led by an Army officer, into North Carolina to kill Muhammad.
Maybe close in spirit - but not quite - re the OP?
Do the words “Bleeding Kansas” ring any bells?
But that wasn’t between two states, it was more like a civil conflict within the state. I think the OP is explicitly asking about conflicts between states, not uprisings against the federal government or a domestic disturbance.
If you’re going to count simple armed uprisings against the feds, then there’s the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 and Shay’s rebellion of 1786. I suppose some of the race riots of the twentieth century were severe enough that they could be considered uprisings. A race riot in Atlanta around the turn of the twentieth century involved gun battles between blacks and whites in the streets, and killed more than a hundred people, most of them black. Some horrified observers in Europe considered it a small race war. Should Indian wars count? Those went on more or less continuously throughout the nineteenth century.
I was going to say John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, but that probably ought to be considered part of the Civil War.
Wiki pedia has a list of civil disturbances in the United States.
The Boston brothel riot sounds intriguing.
18th century
1713 - Boston Bread Riot, Boston, Massachusetts
1734 - Mast Tree Riot, Fremont, New Hampshire
1737 - Boston Brothal Riot, Boston, Massachusetts
1741 - New York Slave Insurrection of 1741, New York City, New York
1742 - Philadelphia Election Riot, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1746 - New Jersey Tennant Riots, New Jersey
1747 - Boston Anti-Impressment Riot, Boston, Massachusetts
1756 - Knowles Riot, Boston, Massachusetts
1764 - Paxton Riots, Paxton, Pennsylvania
1770 - Boston Massacre, Boston, Massachusetts
1771 - Battle of Alamance, Regulators, May 1771, Alamance, North Carolina
1772 - Pine Tree Riot, Weare, New Hampshire
1786 - Shays Rebellion, Aug. 29, 1786 - Feb. 3, 1787, Western Massachusetts
1788 - Doctors Mob Riot, New York City, New York
1793 - New York City Brothel Riot, New York City, New York
1794 - Whiskey Rebellion, Western Pennsylvania
19th century
1832 - Anti-Abolitionist Riot, New York City, New York
1834 - Anti-Abolitionist Riot, New York City, New York
1835 - Baltimore Bank Riot
1835 - Gentleman’s Riot, Boston, Massachusetts
1837 - Flour Riots, New York City, New York
1841 - Whig Party Riot, Washington, D.C.
1841 - Dorr Rebellion, Rhode Island
1844 - Philadelphia Nativist Riots, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1849 - Astor Place Riots, New York City, New York
1855 - Lager Beer Riot, Chicago, Illinois
1855 - Know-Nothing Riot of 1855, Louisville, Kentucky
1856 - Know-Nothing Riot of 1856, Baltimore, Maryland
1857 - Know-Nothing Riot, Washington D.C.
1857 - New York Police Riots of 1857, New York City, New York
1861 - Baltimore Riot of 1861, Baltimore, Maryland
1863 - New York Draft Riot, New York City, New York
1864 - Charleston Riot, Charleston, Illinois
1866 - Memphis Race Riot, Memphis, Tennessee
1866 - New Orleans Riot, New Orleans, Louisiana
1868 - Pulaski Riot, Pulaski, Tennessee
1873 - Colfax Riot, Colfax, Louisiana
1877 - Railroad Strikes of 1877, July 1877, Various locations in USA
1884 - Cincinnati Vigilante Riot, Cincinnati, Ohio
1886 - Haymarket Riot, Chicago, Illinois
1892 - Homestead Strike, July 6,1892, Homestead, Pennsylvania
1894 - May Day Riots of 1894, May 1, Cleveland, Ohio
1894 - Pullman Strike participants burn World’s Columbian Exposition buildings, Chicago, Illinois
1897 - Lattimer massacre, Sep. 1897, near Hazleton, Pennsylvania
1898 - Wilmington Race Riot, Nov. 10, Wilmington, North Carolina
20th century
1906 - Atlanta Riots, Atlanta, Georgia
1907 - Bellingham riots, Bellingham, Washington
1908 - Springfield Race Riot, Springfield, Illinois
1912 - Lawrence textile strike, Lawrence, Massachusetts
1913 - Patterson silk strike, Patterson, New Jersey
1914 - Ludlow massacre, April 20, Ludlow, Colorado
1916 - Preparedness Day bombing, July 22, San Francisco, California
1917 - East St. Louis Riot, July 2, St. Louis, Missouri & East St. Louis, Illinois
1917 - Houston Race riot, Aug. 23, Houston, Texas
1919 - May Day Riots, May 1, Cleveland, Ohio
1919 - Red Summer, USA
1919 - Charleston Race riot, May 10, Charleston, South Carolina
1919 - Washington, DC Riot 1919, July 19, Washington, D.C.
1919 - Chicago Race Riot, July 27 - Aug.2, Chicago, Illinois
1919 - Knoxville Race riot, Aug. 30, Knoxville, Tenn.
1919 - Longview Race Riot, Longview, Texas
1919 - Omaha Race riot, Sept. 28, Omaha, Nebraska
1919 - Elaine Race Riot, Oct. 1, Elaine, Arkansas
1919 - Centralia massacre, Nov. 11, Centralia, Washington
1921 - Tulsa Race Riot, June 1-2, Tulsa, Oklahoma
1921 - Battle of Blair Mountain, W.V. Coal Mine Wars, Aug.- Sept. 1921, Logan County, West Virginia
1923 - Rosewood riot, Jan. 1-7, Rosewood, Florida
1927 - Columbine Mine Massacre, Nov.21, Serene, Colorado
1931 - Chicago Rent Strike Riot, Aug. 3, Chicago, Illinois
1934 - Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1934 - 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
1934 - Textile workers strike (1934)
1937 - Republic Steel Strike, May 30, Chicago, Illinois
1943 - Zoot Suit Riots, July 3, Los Angeles, California
1943 - Detroit Race Riot, Detroit, Michigan
1949 - Peekskill Riot, Peekskill, New York
1951 - Cicero Riot, July 12, Cicero, Illinois
1964 - New York City riot 1964, July 18-23, New York City, New York
1964 - Rochester 1964 race riot, July 24-25, Rochester, New York
1964 - Jersey City riot 1964, Aug. 2-4, Jersey City, New Jersey
1964 - Paterson riot 1964, Aug. 11-13, Paterson, New Jersey
1964 - Elizabeth riot 1964, Aug. 11-13, Elizabeth, New Jersey
1964 - Chicago riot 1964, Dixmoor riot, Aug. 16-17, Chicago, Illinois
1964 - Philadelphia 1964 race riot, Aug. 28-30,
reference for these 1964 events: [1]
1965 - Watts Riot, Aug. 1965, Los Angeles, California
1966 - Hunter’s Point Riot, San Francisco, California
1966 - Hough Riots, July 18-24, Cleveland, Ohio
1967 - 1967 Newark riots, July 1967, Newark, New Jersey
1967 - 1967 Plainfield riots, July 14-21, Plainfield, New Jersey
1967 - Cambridge, Md. Riot 1967, July 1967, Cambridge, Maryland
1967 - 12th Street Riot, July 1967, Detroit, Michigan
1968 - Orangeburg Massacre, S.C. State Univ., Feb. 8, Orangeburg, South Carolina
1968 - 1968 Washington, DC riots, April 4-8, Washington, D.C.
1968 - Baltimore Riot 1968, April 6-7, Baltimore, MD
1968 - Chicago riot 1968, West Side Riots, April 7-14, Chicago, Illinois
1968 - Glenville Shootout, July 23-28, Cleveland, Ohio
1968 - 1968 Democratic National Convention riot, Aug. 1968, Chicago, Illinois
1969 - Stonewall Riots, June 1969, New York City, New York
1969 - York Race Riot, July 1969, York, Pennsylvania
1969 - Days of Rage, Oct. 8-11, Chicago, Illinois
1970 - Kent State Riots/Shootings, May 1970, Kent, Ohio
1970 - Hard Hat riot, Wall Street, May 8, New York City, New York
1970 - Jackson State killings, May 14-15, Jackson, Mississippi
1970 - Sterling Hall bombing, Univ. of Wisc., Aug. 24, Madison, Wisconsin
1971 - May Day Protests 1971, May 3, Washington, D.C.
1971 - Camden Riots, August 1971, Camden, New Jersey
1971 - Attica Prison uprising, (Attica, New York)
1975 - Livernois-Fenkell riot, July 1975, Detroit, Michigan
1977 - Chicago riot 1977, Humboldt Park riot, June 4-5, Chicago, Illinois
1977 - New York City Blackout Riot, July 1977, New York City, New York
1979 - White Night gay riots, May 1979, San Francisco, California
1979 - Greensboro Riot/Shootings, Nov. 3, Greensboro, North Carolina
1980 - New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1980 - Chattanooga Riot of 1980, Chattanooga, Tennessee
1980 - Miami Riot 1980, May 17-19, Miami, Florida
1982 - Washington Anti-Klan protest 1982, Nov. 27, Washington, D.C.
1982 - Miami Riot 1982, Overtown Riot, Dec. 1982, Miami, Florida
1987 - Tampa Riot 1987, Feb. 1987, Tampa, Florida
1988 - Tompkins Square Park Police Riot, August 1988 (East Village, Manhattan, New York City)
1989 - Miami Riot 1989, Jan. 1989, Miami, Florida
1989 - Tampa Riot 1989, Feb. 1989, Tampa, Florida
1991 - 1991 Washington, DC riot, Mount Pleasant riot, May 5-9, Washington, D.C.
1991 - Crown Heights Riot, Aug. 1991, Brooklyn, New York
1992 - L.A. riot/Rodney King riot, April-May 1992, Los Angeles, California
1996 - St. Petersburg, FL Riot 1996, Oct. 1996, St. Petersburg, Florida
1999 - WTO Meeting of 1999, Nov. 1999, Seattle, Washington
1999 - Michigan State University student riot, April 1999, (East Lansing, Michigan)
1999 - Woodstock '99 music festival riot, August 1999, (Woodstock, New York)
21st century
2000 - Puerto Rican Day Parade riot in Central Park New York City, New York
2001 - 2001 Cincinnati Riots, April 10-12, Cincinnati, Ohio
2001 - Seattle Mardi Gras Riots, Feb. 27, Seattle, WA
2002 - University of Minnesota Hockey Riots, April 6, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2003 - University of Minnesota Hockey Riots (second straight year), April 12, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2003 - Benton Harbor Riot, June 2003, Benton Harbor, Michigan
2005 - Civil disturbances and military action in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Aug.-Sept., New Orleans, Louisiana
2005 - 2005 Toledo Riot, Oct. 15, Toledo, Ohio
2006 - San Bernardino punk riot, March 4, San Bernardino, California
Wrong!
Citizens of Missouri crossed over into Kansas for barbaric acts of violence. They acquired the knickname “Border Ruffians”.
Anti-Slavery forces from Kansas were called “Jayhawkers”.
So, it generally meets the OP terms.
My bad.
Heh, I’d never heard about that one! Thanks for the cite! 