During its early years The Salvation Army faced a great deal of opposition, especially from those in the alcohol-selling industry who were concerned that the activities of Booth and his followers would persuade the poorer classes to stop drinking. One group opposed to Booth and The Salvation Army was the Skeleton Army, a diffuse group, particularly in Southern England, that opposed and disrupted The Salvation Army's marches against alcohol from the early 1880s until about 1892. Clashes between the two groups lead to the deaths of several Salvationists and injuries to many others. During 1882 alone 662 Salvation Army soldiers were assaulted: 251 of them were women and 23 of them were under fifteen years of age.