Fragment
Object number2002.57.5
Date1877
MediumMetal
Credit LineGift of Roberta Stack
DescriptionPiece of twisted metal.Dimensions1.5 x 2 x 3 in. (3.8 x 5.1 x 7.6 cm)InscriptionsOn one side there are letters imprinted into the metal. KOWARD are the only ones that can be identified. The other letters have been worn off.
Historical NotesSignature/Inscription: On one side there are letters imprinted into the metal. KOWARD are the only ones that can be identified. The other letters have been worn off. Relics of the fire in Pittsburgh during the 1877 Railroad Strike. The strike was the first major nationwide labor strike in the U.S. Quickly spread across the U.S. The PA Railroad strike in Pittsburgh was a pitched battle between strikers and state militiamen, which caused 20 deaths and the burning of the city's roundhouse and union depot.Label TextFederal troops retreated into the station’s roundhouse for safety from the violent crowd. One soldier remembered, “down came one car after another laden with oil which was on fire and burning fiercely…. It was better to run the risk of being shot down than burned to death.”
Related institution
Pennsylvania Railroad
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