Two Cincinnati policemen, Officers Clairborne Long and Daniel Hallam, had been stabbed the previous evening at a house of prostitution in the city. Both died and two brothers, Constance and Romain Lohrer were arrested for the crime. A mob soon formed to storm the prison and lynch the culprits. The mayor, however, dispatched a local volunteer unit, the Guthrie Grays, to defend the building and the riot was dispersed. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Riot in Cincinnati," New York Times, January 12, 1861.