it all started when wealthy steel magnate Andrew Carnegie decided that the Amalgamated Association of
Iron and Steel Workers (AA) had too much control over the Homestead steel mills. while publicly
supporting unions, Carnegie appointed his business partner Henry Frick to break the union's hold in
1892. Frick, at one point known as 'America's most hated man', was a ruthless entrepreneur. only three
years earlier a poorly maintained earth dam at the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, an exclusive
mountain club for the wealthy that Frick founded, gave way and released 20 million tons of water down
the Conemaugh Valley onto Johnstown, erasing over 2,200 lives and $17 million in property in a matter
of minutes. while Frick donated thousands to relief efforts, his reputation was already blackened, and
when he came to Homestead he was prepared for a brutal fight with the union. when the union asked for
a wage increase because of the prosperity and productivity of the steel industry, Frick instead offered
them a rate cut of nearly a quarter of their wages as well as elimination of positions. he then declared
that if the bargaining wasn't resolved in a month - and by bargaining, he meant the union accepting this
humiliating deal - Carnegie Steel would no longer recognize them. he proceeded to fortify the plant with
sniper towers, high pressure water cannons that could spray boiling water, and barbed wire fences. the
union retaliated by throwing up picket lines around the plant, organizing strikes in nearby towns, driving
away strikebreakers, and refusing company officials access to the mills. the battle lines had been drawn,
and Frick decided to bring in men from the Pinkerton Detective Agency to quell the uprising.

the Pinkerton Detective Agency was founded in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton, the man who developed
shadowing and undercover work and who purportedly saved Lincoln from an assassination attempt in
Baltimore on his way to being sworn in. the Pinkertons grew in number and reputation, hunting outlaws
in the west, infiltrating the Molly Maguires, tracking America's first known serial killer, H.H. Holmes,
and eventually eclipsing even the U.S. Army's numbers. by the time they were sent to Homestead, their
image was much less noble - essentially they were mercenaries hired by company owners to break
strikes by force, including coercion and allegedly even murder. accounts vary, but between 300-400
Pinkertons armed with Winchester rifles were to ride upriver to the plant and retake it in the middle of
the night.

the union was alerted and what would become one of the bloodiest labor disputes in the United States'
history followed. a crowd of men, women, and children followed the barges up the river, throwing stones
at them and occasionally firing at them. the crowd overtook the mill's defenses and when the Pinkertons
tried to land they were greeted by an angry mob of over 5,000 people with guns, rocks, and clubs. it is
unknown who fired the first shots, although it stands to reason that when confronted with such a
disparity in numbers the Pinkertons would be unlikely to start shooting unless by accident or provoked.
several on both sides were killed and wounded, and the Pinkertons retreated to their barges.

for the next 12 hours a fierce battle ensued. union members - among their numbers over 300 riflemen,
snipers, and a cannon - rained fire down on the barges. the Pinkertons huddled, trapped as their own tug
left and efforts to retrieve them by another tug were stymied. newer recruits were desperate enough to
attempt to swim away despite threats from their captain that he would shoot deserters. the strikers
made burning rafts they floated downstream at the barges, threw dynamite at them, and dumped oil in
the river and attempted to set it on fire.

finally the Pinkertons surrendered. they were marched through town, spat on and beaten mercilessly
(one had his eye put out by a woman's umbrella), and thrown into confinement at the town opera house.
as negotiations with local and state law enforcement began, the strikers allowed the Pinkertons to be
taken from the town on a special train. their abuse of the Pinkertons had turned the public and the press
against them, however, and though they had won it was a shortlived victory. a little less than a week
later 4,000 soldiers were dispatched in a surprise attack on the town, surrounded the plant, and in about
one hour the company once again had control over the mill. martial law was declared and strikebreakers
quickly restarted production.

less than two weeks later an anarchist attacked Frick in his office, shooting him twice in the neck. Frick
tackled him and the man stabbed him four more times before being dragged away to jail. in only a week
Frick was back at work and the would-be assassin was jailed. 2,500 men plant workers had lost their jobs
and the rest had their wages halved. the AA was defeated in several more strikes in other areas as the
years passed and their numbers dwindled. the Pinkertons continued to break strikes and aid law
enforcement until police departments modernized and eventually the FBI was formed. their relevance
dwindled and in 2003 they were acquired by Securitas Security Services USA, and in a ironic twist of fate
are now unionized themselves.

while the Carrie Furnaces themselves were not directly involved in the Homestead strike beyond being
silent witnesses, the ground they occupied was, and the nearby Rankin Hot Metal Bridge where the
strikers assaulted the Pinkertons still stands. the local historical preservation group Rivers of Steel
currently is working to save the furnaces and in the past has conducted guided tours of the grounds
given by men who once worked there.  if they are unsuccessful, this vital piece of Pittsburgh's industrial
past will be lost forever, as will the opportunity to educate future generations about their heritage
through the amazing experience that seeing the furnaces firsthand provides.
all photos and unattributed text copyright © 2005-2008 by abandonedamerica.org
and may not be used or reproduced without prior written consent. all rights reserved.
silent witness
home        articles        galleries        contact        showings        purchase        updates        about