On June 11, 1837, a company of Boston firefighters was coming back from a call when they came across a group of mourners in a funeral procession. At some point, one of the parties offended the other and a fight ensued. What the offense was and who committed it was never ascertained. However, the result was never forgotten. A riot broke out that eventually numbered an estimated 1,000 participants. People began throwing stones and other launch worthy objects at one another and several homes were vandalized. The Broad Street Riot is sometimes referred to as the worst riot in Boston history. However, there was no loss of life, as there was with a more recent sports riot in the city.
It is important to take note of the ancestry of the individuals involved. This was a time when there was a clear distinction between those of English ancestry and those with Irish. It did not matter if a person was born in the United States or they were personally immigrants rather than descendants of them. Tension had been brewing between the two sects of immigrant and immigrant descendants for decades before the Broad Street Riot. It is assumed that this was the catalyst for the argument and ensuing riot. The mourners were Irish or of Irish descent and the firefighters were English or of English descent.
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