1980 St. Pauls riot the "Western Daily Press". 16 of those arrested were prosecuted for riot, but all were either acquitted, had the charges dropped or were discharged after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Copycat riots in Southmead, a predominately white working-class council estate, occurred soon after the St Pauls disturbance. Later commentators suggested that poverty and the sus laws were more important causes of the riots than race. The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee held a session in Bristol and Home Secretary William Whitelaw came to the city to hold meetings with the local authorities and representatives of the
Richmond in the American Civil War Belle Isle), and various cemeteries. On March 13, 1863, the Confederate Laboratory on Brown's Island was rocked by an explosion that killed dozens of workers. On April 2, 1863, the city was beset by a large bread riot as housewives could no longer afford very high food prices and broke into stores. The riot was organized by Mary Jackson, a huckster and the mother of a soldier. The militia was called out to end the riot. The Confederacy hit its high-water mark at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. Subsequent campaigning in the balance of the year failed to