The Guns Came Out — The Homestead Strike (1892)
1892. Carnegie Steel. Workers went on strike. The company hired a private army. A battle broke out on the riverbank.
Carnegie's Mill
- Homestead, Pennsylvania.
Andrew Carnegie's steel mill. One of the largest in America.
Workers declared a strike against wage cuts.
Carnegie left for Europe. He left his plant manager, Henry Clay Frick, in charge.
The Pinkertons
Frick called the Pinkerton Detective Agency. 300 armed agents.
July 6, before dawn. Two barges moved up the river toward the mill.
The workers were waiting.
Gunfire broke out.
The Battle
Twelve hours of fighting.
3 Pinkerton agents dead. 9 workers dead.
The Pinkerton men finally surrendered. Workers seized the plant.
The Army Arrived
The Pennsylvania governor sent 8,500 National Guard troops.
The mill was retaken four days later.
The strike ended in defeat. Strike leaders were indicted.
The steel union would not recover for forty years.
Carnegie's Shadow
Carnegie returned from Europe.
He later wrote: "Homestead is the greatest blot on my life."
But the mill ran as he intended. Wages were cut.
Date: July 6, 1892 | Deaths: 12 | Outcome: Union crushed, strike defeated
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