The Richmond Bread Riot, took place in the Confederate capital of Richmond on April 2, 1863, after a group of hungry Richmond women took their complaints to Virginia Governor John L. Letcher, and he refused to see them. The anger led to attacks on commercial establishments. Troops were deployed and it was eventually stopped with more than sixty protesters arrested and tried'
The riot was the most destructive in a series of civil disturbances throughout the South during the third year of the American Civil War. The Confederate economy was showing signs of serious strain and the Confederate Congress had passed the Impressment Act, which allowed the military to seize private property, supplies, and enslaved labor for the war effort. The act was viewed as unreasonable and confiscatory leading to rampant speculation and Inflation.
