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Tuesday, 21 January 2020 20:11

Sergeant William Jourdan

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Sergeant William Jourdan

Sergeant William Jourdan

On this day in Baltimore Police History 1857, we lost our brother Sergeant William Jourdan to gunfire based on the following: The 1800’s was a mixing pot for Baltimore, made up of different nationalities that were struggling to find their political direction. A city divided into wards was literally fighting in the streets for control of everything from polling places to a political party. There was the “No Nothing Party” and “The Democratic Party” in 1857 alone there were tons of arrests were made for people shooting at police officers. While the police were charged with keeping the peace and maintaining order, it didn’t stop those they swore to protect from turning their guns on us, police were shot at, on a regular base.

14 October 1857 was like any other day in Baltimore a confused society taking their misguided misinformed, political confusion out on the police. At the time, the police ran the city, the commissioner panel at time made up of Charles Howard, William H Gatchell, Charles Hinks, and John W Davis in itself was political, often these commissioners either went on to become Mayors, or were Mayors that later became police commissioners and ran the city government. It was frustrating, to the people of Baltimore a port town, made up of so many different nationalities, all vying for their place; some sort of identity and fair treatment. Sergeant William Jourdan, fell victim to a bullet fired at him while keeping order at a polling place when he was shot for no other reason than he wore a badge and uniform of a Baltimore Police Officer. He wasn’t out to arrest anyone, it wasn’t a wanted person, a robber, or thief, it was a voter in the 5th ward at Gay and Front Street ready to cast his ballot, but several Democratic candidates withdrew their names from consideration for seats on the city council. This served to quiet some of the trouble that had been brewing, but it didn’t stop around from being fired off at approx. 1:30 pm, with streets full of voters and political activist, a man on a roof of an Omnibus fired a pistol into the crowd. After discharging several rounds, many of the onlookers chased after him. the shooter ran through a store owned by Jehu Gorsush at the corner of Front and Gay Street, then onto the roof of that store, and finally escaped by descending through an adjacent house. Once again those in the street began fighting, the situation demanded action by the on-scene police, in order to prevent more fighting and an eventual riot.

Fortunate for nearly everyone there, one of the groups involved in the fighting retreated down High Street toward French Street. Wanting the retreat to continue, police did all they could to maintain the push moving them further out of the area. As police encouraged the crowd to continue their move, the shots started up again, this time from a window of the Democratic headquarters, “Jackson Hall”. One ball of the rounds struck Sgt Jourdan, killing him within minutes. Lieutenant Carmichael took over, transporting Sgt Jourdan’s lifeless body to his home near Ann Street and Eastern Avenue. 250 or more police attended his funeral, they came from all four districts. At 3:00 pm on 15, October 1857, a procession led by fellow officers carried his body to the Baltimore Cemetery. When his death was reported in the Baltimore Sun, he was remembered as being “Faithful, full of a Zeal for good order, looking for “Peace” in our city”

There were seven people arrested and charged in this killing they were, 1) M. J. Grady, 2) Henry Burns, 3) Jas. Fawcett, 4) Thomas Murray, 5) William Quinn, 6) Chas. Reilly and 7) Peter Ward, each indicted in Baltimore city for the murder of Sergeant William Jourdan, each as principal and each as an accessory to the murder on or about 10 / 11th October 1857.

As his brothers and sisters of the Baltimore Police Department we will not let him be forgotten, His service Honored the City of Baltimore, and the Baltimore Police Department may he rest in peace, and may God bless him.

(250 officers in attendance, how times have changed, about 2,000 police officers gathered to bury John Platt and Kevin McCarthy - in either case, they will be remembered the same)

More details

NameDescription
End of Watch 14 October, 1857
City, St. Gay and Front Street
Panel Number 23-E: 21
Cause of Death Gunfire
Weapon - Handgun
District Worked Central
Read 4524 times Last modified on Wednesday, 22 January 2020 05:20
Published in Fallen Heroes
Baltimore Police Historical Soicety

The Baltimore Police Historical Society put this and other articles on this website together using research from old newspapers, old books, photos, and artifacts.

We rely more heavily on books written at or near the time of the incident we are researching or writing about. We do not put too much weight on the more recently written history books, or books that have been written with a biased opinion or agenda.

We try not to tell our readers what to think about our past as much as we tell a story with hopes of our readers forming their own opinions. That said, ever so often we come across a story that to us is so exciting that we might express that in our writings. but we hope our readers will form their own opinions based on the information written at the time, not information that was added years later using a filtered history that has been twisted and pulled in the direction of various storytellers that may or may not have had their own agendas.

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