Trivia 1-17-18 Spilled Blood

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2 events in Baltimore have been said to be the first blood spilled. The killing of Nicholas Biddle on April 18, 1861 some say was the first blood spilled while some say the following day riot when a pro southern mob attacked the 6th Massachusetts passing through Baltimore was the first blood spilled. I guess I'll go with the killing of Nicholas Biddle as my answer.
 
It was on April 19th, 1861 in downtown Baltimore when an angry seccessionist mob attacked Massachusetts troops heading to Washington by train. And I wonder how many tourists who frequent the shops and restaurants of Baltimore's famed "Inner Harbor" are aware of what happened a stones throw away (most definitely no pun intended as 4 soldiers and 12 civilians were killed).
 
I have found several references to “”first blood spilled of the Civil War”.

November 7, 1849: “The first blood of the impending Civil War was spilled when a slave owner tried to recapture a couple of his former slaves who were in the town of Christiana, Pennsylvania. When the slave owner arrived with a federal marshal, he was met with armed opponents who killed him and forced the others to flee. While 36 people were arrested for the action none were convicted.”
http://www.historycentral.com/Ant/blood.html

“Preston Brooks, who on May 22 1856, canned Charles Sumner in the Senate Chamber and spilled what has been called the first blood of the civil war”.
The Legacy of the Civil War, by Robert Penn Warren, no page number available.

There are also various references to John Brown whether in Kansas or Harper’s Ferry (Horace Greeley - The Great Republic - Volume 3 - edited by Charles Morris - “The first blood shed in the war between freedom and slavery was that spilled upon the soil of Kansas)."

It appears the term has been used quite frequently, however, I am assuming that this is probably answering the question as intended:

On April 12, 1861, after Fort Sumter: “The first real blood of the American Civil War was spilled” as a mob in Baltimore attacked troops traveling to Washington DC, killing 4 soldiers. 12 rioters were also killed.
http://historycollection.co/today-history-first-blood-spilled-civil-war-1861/
 
The question as given - "What has been called the first blood spilled of the Civil War?". This is a question with potentially multiple correct answers.

Some would claim Nicholas Biddle of April 18th, as early as 1887 in the book “Point on Coal and the Coal Business….” by Charles Miesse where he quotes Maryland Governor Curtin telling Pennsylvania soldiers a few days after that “Nick Biddle’s was the first blood spilled for the Union.”

One could argue Private Daniel Hough on April 14th at Fort Sumter who died accidentally after the surrender

The most widely use of this term goes to the Pratt Street Riot of Baltimore
source (and numerous other sources) - final answer
 
Hmmh, I'm afraid this is a tricky one ... and I'm also afraid it is again one where multiple answers might qualify as being correct ...

Usually I would have answered that it is the Baltimore Pratt Street riot on April 18, 1856, when a secessionist mob in Baltimore attacks Massachusetts troops bound for Washington, D.C. Four soldiers and 12 rioters were killed, which made that riot the first blood spilled in the Civil War.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-blood-in-the-civil-war

But then I noticed that there is a difference between "the first blood in the Civil War" and "the first blood of the Civil War", as it was asked in the question.

The latter could be hinting to a gentleman by the name of Nicholas Biddle, an African-American soldier passing through Baltimore on April 18, 1861 on his way to Washington and the battlefields of the Civil War.

"On this day in 1861, Nicholas Biddle became “the first blood of the Civil War” in the midst of mob violence in Baltimore."
https://blackthen.com/april-18-1861-nicholas-biddle-first-person-shed-blood-civil-war/
http://www.historynet.com/nicholas-biddle-first-blood.htm (<-- very interesting article, very worth reading!)

However, he is not the only one who is said to be the first one to spill his blood in the Civil War ... he shares that honor with a 17 year old kid from New Hampshire, Luther C. Ladd:
Hampshire.JPG

https://books.google.de/books?id=4g...YAhVBOBQKHcHzAa4Q6AEIUjAH#v=onepage&q&f=false

But then there is even a fourth event that claims to be the first blood of the Civil War, although it had happened years before, a fight between Member of the House of Representatives Preston Brooks and Senator Charles Sumner , having taken place as early as May 20, 1856:

Blood.JPG


https://books.google.de/books?id=1C...WMtRQKHTVNC6c4ChDoAQguMAE#v=onepage&q&f=false

The the blows were said to have been so heavy that the cane broke and Sumner was seriously injured.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Preston_Brooks&oldid=819680830

I hope that this is enough proof that each of these answers should be regarded as being correct.

But if I have to choose one, I choose the fight between Preston Brooks and Senator Charles Sumner as my final answer. That one is so unique, I think it qualifies best.
 
"What has been called the first blood spilled of the Civil War?"

credit: @NH Civil War Gal
The Pratt Street Riot, April 19, 1861.
Though I have seen this term used to describe the events in Kansas and Missouri in the 18650s, it seems most commonly used for the events of April 19, 1861. Soldiers of the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry were on their way south when attacked by rebel sympathizers in Baltimore, Maryland. Four soldiers and twelve rioters were killed.
 
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