the Kearny Raids

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I am looking for information on the Kearny Raids in San Francisco lead by Dennis Kearny from the Workman's party in 1880s approximately. This is part of Chinese History in San Francisco. I am a high school teacher and a student is researching this topic. I appreciate any help you can give us. Katie Glasser

-- Katie Glasser (ktura7@yahoo.com), November 15, 2003

Answers

From my recollection as was told to me, there was mostly only one day in the month of July somewhere in the mid 1870s where a major raid took place by several hundred men after Kearny incited a riot. It's well known that on that day the raids were done on the Pacific Mail Steamship Company because they were the ones that transported thousands of Chinese to San Francisco. Chinese laundramats and stores were also vandalized throughout the city and I was told that one laundramat on Turk and Leavenworth was completely burnt to the ground. There were also reports of deaths but I can't verify it. The whole thing did however ignite the old vigilante force of the 1850s to once again pick up their arms to restore order to the city. Had the vigilantes not done so there would have been more destruction and probably deaths.

-- Harry Murphy (harrymurphy*@bigmailbox.net), November 16, 2003.

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