National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

Officer Rank: Posseman

Memorial Panel: 55-W: 27

Department: U.S. Marshals Service

End of Watch: September 11, 1851

Cause: SHOT

Age: 57

Years of Service: 2

Description: Posseman Gorsuch, deputized by U.S. Marshal Henry Kline, was shot as he and a posse attempted to capture two slaves that had fled the Gorsuch plantation in Maryland. A warrant had been issued under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1851. The slaves were located at a farm where they had been granted refuge by two white men who were opposed to slavery. Someone inside the house blew a horn, and within minutes the posse was surrounded by a group of black and white men and fired upon. Posseman Gorsuch was mortally wounded. Marshal Kline and three other posse members were wounded but survived. This incident became known as the Christiana Riots.