The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in mainland Britain when approximately 1,000 to 1,500 Chartist sympathizers, including many coal-miners, most with home-made arms, led by John Frost, marched on the town of Newport, Monmouthshire, intent on liberating fellow Chartists who were to have been taken prisoner.
A rising of some sort had been in preparation over the preceding few months and the march had been gathering momentum over the course of the whole weekend as Frost and his associates led the protestors down from the industrialized valley towns above Newport. Some of the miners who joined the march had armed themselves with home-made pikes, bludgeons, and firearms. Rumors of a possible Chartist rising and previous violence elsewhere meant that the authorities had suspected there might be a riot.
The Chartists arrived at the small square in front of a hotel and the crowd demanded the release of the prisoners. A brief, violent and bloody battle ensued. Shots were fired by both sides, but the soldiers holding the building had vastly superior fire-power, training and discipline and soon broke the crowd. After a fiercely fought battle lasting approximately half an hour, 10 to 24 Chartists were killed by troops, and upwards of 50 wounded. In the aftermath, 200 or more Chartists were arrested for their involvement.
