James Lingan, Revolutionary War Hero and Victim of Baltimore Riots-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Born May 15, 1751   Died July 28, 1812 (age 61, Baltimore, Maryland)

Died in the Baltimore Riots

Officer in the Continental Army and a senior officer in the Maryland State Militia.

Taken prisoner at Fort Washington early in the American Revolution and spent several years aboard a British prison hulk ship.  Always and outspoken advocate of the freedom of the press, at  the beginning of the War of 1812, Lingan was murdered by a  while defending the office of an anti war Federalist newspaper in Baltimore.

--Brock-Perry

"Light-Horse Harry" Lee-- Part 4: The Baltimore Riots of 1812

Lee retired from public service in 1801 and lived at Stratford Plantation, but did a poor job managing it.  Financial misfortunes followed him until in 1809 he was bankrupt and served one year in debtors prison.  After his release he moved his family to Alexandria, Virginia.

During the Baltimore Riots of 1812 he received grave injuries while resisting an attack on his old friend, Alexander Contee Hanson, editor of the Baltimore newspaper, the Federal Republican, a strongly anti-Madison and War of 1812 paper.

On July 27, 1812, a Baltimore Democrat-Republican mob attacked and Lee and Hanson and two dozen other Federalists had taken refuge in the newspaper offices.  They surrendered to Baltimore city officials the next day and were jailed for their safety.

Laborer George Woolslager led a mob that forced its way into the jail.  They removed Hanson, Lee and the other Federalists and beat and tortured them over the next three hours.  All were severely injured and one of them, James Lingan, and American Revolution hero, died.

--Brock-Perry

Alexander Cortee Hanson-- Part 2: The Baltimore Riot

Undeterred by this, Hanson reissued the paper on July 28 from another building where he was joined by a group of armed friends to protect him.  When the mob came again, they besieged the building and Hanson and his group opened fire, killing two of the mob.

On the morning of July 29, Hanson and his group surrendered to Baltimore's local militia and were escorted to jail.

That evening, the mob came back and stormed the jail and Hanson was beaten and left for dead.    James Lingan, a military officer who came to Hanson's defense, died as a result of the violence.  Also, Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, hero of the American Revolution and father of future Confederate General Robert R. Lee, was there and was injured.

Alexander Hanson recovered, though, and moved his paper to Georgetown, District of Columbia, where he published it unmolested.  He later moved to Rockville, Maryland.

And You Think Things Are Bad Now?  At Least They Weren't Pulling Down Statues.  --Brock-Perry