<P> Pennsylvania Governor Hartranft declared Scranton to be under martial law; it was occupied by state and federal troops armed with Gatling guns . Later the posse leader and about 20 of his men were charged with assault and murder . They were all acquitted . Under the effects of the shootings and military occupation, the miners ended their strike without gaining any of their demands . </P> <P> On July 24, rail traffic in Chicago was paralyzed when angry mobs of unemployed citizens wreaked havoc in the rail yards, shutting down both the Baltimore and Ohio and the Illinois Central railroads . Soon, other railroads throughout the state were brought to a standstill, with demonstrators shutting down railroad traffic in Bloomington, Aurora, Peoria, Decatur, Urbana and other rail centers throughout Illinois . In sympathy, coal miners in the pits at Braidwood, LaSalle, Springfield, and Carbondale went on strike as well . In Chicago, the Workingmen's Party organized demonstrations that drew crowds of 20,000 people . </P> <P> Judge Thomas Drummond of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, who was overseeing numerous railroads that had declared bankruptcy in the wake of the earlier financial Panic of 1873, ruled that "A strike or other unlawful interference with the trains will be a violation of the United States law, and the court will be bound to take notice of it and enforce the penalty ." Drummond told the U.S. Marshals to protect the railroads, and asked for federal troops to enforce his decision: he subsequently had strikers arrested and tried them for contempt of court . </P> <P> The Mayor of Chicago, Monroe Heath, recruited 5,000 men as volunteer militia, asking for help in restoring order . They were partially successful, and shortly thereafter were reinforced by the arrival of the Illinois National Guard and U.S. Army troops, mobilized by the governor . On July 25, violence between police and the mob erupted, with events reaching a peak the following day . These blood - soaked confrontations between police and enraged mobs are known as the Battle of the Viaduct as they took place near the Halsted Street viaduct, although confrontations also took place at nearby 16th Street, on 12th, and on Canal Street . The headline of the Chicago Times screamed, "Terrors Reign, The Streets of Chicago Given Over to Howling Mobs of Thieves and Cutthroats ." Order was finally restored . An estimated 20 men and boys died, none of whom were law enforcement or troops; scores more were wounded; and the loss of property was valued in the millions of dollars . </P>

Who was involved in the great railroad strike of 1877